Fighting the Evil
by don't-even-ask1
Summary: Sequel to "The New Girl is Who?" - Almaria must ally with Camelot to face the new threat, Cenred. When Brandon, Emily's childhood friend, starts to make a move on Emily, what will Leon do? Will Emily (OC) and Leon's relationship survive the complications that Brandon brings to the table? Will Camelot and Almaria be able to defeat Cenred when they are divided themselves? - ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**So, here's the sequel! Virtual cookies to all of you that voted! Be sure to R&R!**

**BTW, if you haven't read **_**The New Girl is Who? **_**this really won't make sense; so go back and read that and then read this!**

_Chapter 1__ – The Attack_

"So, Emily, when do you think you will come back to Almaria?" Bryce asked slyly.

Emily glared at her brother and said, "I don't know. Why don't you just leave me alone?"

Knights of Camelot and Almaria were sitting in one of Gwaine's favorite taverns late one night.

Gwaine smiled, partially drunk, and said, "This is funny to watch."

Arthur, Percival, Leon, and Elyan nodded. Brandon smiled and added, "You should see them when they were younger. They were constantly at it."

Rowena **(yes, a girl Almarian knight) **continued, "Sometimes it got complicated though. Remember when we had to pick sides?"

Brandon laughed and rocked back on his chair. "Yeah! That was absolutely terrible!"

Percival asked, "Why?"

Rowena stopped laughing and managed to say, "Almaria was split just over an argument about who had to train the knights the next week! It was so stupid!"

Arthur, Percival, Gwaine, and Elyan joined in laughing.

Bryce and Emily stopped their argument long enough to raise their eyebrows at their companions. "What?"

Gwaine smiled, "Just sharing stories."

Emily's face darkened. "That's not good."

Bryce grinned evilly. "No, not for you." He took a deep breath and faced the knights. "Okay there was this one time when Emily-"

"Sire!"

Arthur's head swung toward the door where a young guard ran through. "What?"

The guard was breathing heavily and put his hand on his knees. "Sire _(breath) _there's an army _(breath) _attacking _(breath) _already in the city."

"What!" Arthur and I shouted at the same time. The warning bell started to ring. Arthur stood up and I immediately followed. I asked him, "What do you want the Almaria knights to do?"

Arthur ran his hand through his hair. "Find Guinevere and protect her. Guard her with your life."

I nodded and ran out of the tavern with Brandon, Bryce, Rowena, and Cederic. We set off to find the rest of the knights at the knights' chambers. Once we had everyone gathered, a stunning ten people in all, we set off towards King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's chambers.

We ascended three flights of stairs and sprinted down the hallway to Gwen. I knocked hard on her door and it immediately opened. Gwen stood there, completely dressed and ready to travel. She must have heard the warning bell. "What's going on?"

"There's an attack. Come on, Arthur has instructed us to get to safety," Bryce explained.

Gwen sniffed indignantly. I grabbed her arm before she could protest. "Argue later. Run now."

We hurried down the stairs and into the throne room where Arthur was holding a hurried meeting of tactics. When Arthur saw us with Gwen, he dismissed the nobles quickly.

He hurried to Gwen and wrapped her in a hug. He held her for awhile before releasing her. Gwen noticed an odd look in Arthur's eyes. She asked worriedly, "Something's wrong, isn't there?"

Arthur forced a smile. "You mean otherwise than that Camelot's under attack?"

Gwen stayed serious. "Yes."

Arthur looked for a whole in his wife's resolve but found none. With a sigh, he admitted, "It's unlikely we can weasel our way out of this attack. The men were already in the city before we were warned. The lower town has fallen and now we have only the square and the citadel standing."

Gwen's face fell. "So there's no way out?" she asked in a meek voice.

Arthur held Gwen. "There's always hope." He released her. "I have to go fight with my men. I'll be back."

Gwen held back tears. "Promise?"

Arthur forced a smile. "I promise."

Gwen watched her husband run towards the door. Emily stopped him before he disappeared though. She asked in a quiet voice, "Keep Leon safe will you?"

Arthur nodded and ran out towards the fight. Emily and the Almarian knights started to fortify the throne room. Emily started muttering various protection spells and Brandon and Bryce made sure every knight was thoroughly equipped.

The fighting seemed to grow closer and closer. Camelot's forces were being driven back. After ten minutes, Arthur and his closest knights, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Owen, and to Emily's relief, Leon, stumbled through the door and slammed the door behind them. The Camelot knights wiped off a layer of sweat and caught their breath.

Emily was immediately at Leon's side. "Are you okay?" She eyed his bloodied arm.

Leon followed Emily's gaze to his arm. He shrugged it off. "I'm fine."

"I'll be the judge of that."

From outside the door, a voice called, "Let us in!"

Arthur squinted trying to recognize the voice. Emily recognized it first. "It's Merlin! Let him in!"

The knights moved and opened the door. Merlin helped a limping Gaius through the door. "Hello Arthur," Merlin greeted."

"And just where the hell have you been?" Arthur roared.

"Finding Gaius," Merlin answered.

Arthur's attention turned to Gaius. He gripped the elder's arm. "Are you okay?"

Gaius gasped, "I'm fine. It's just my blasted leg. To think it would act up _now_."

Arthur nodded and turned his attention back to his men. Gwaine was uninjured but everyone else was sporting minor injuries. Arthur held his head in his hands. "How are we to fight?"

Emily stepped forward. "We need to retreat."

Arthur looked incredulously at Emily. "And how do you suggest we do that? We're surrounded!"

Emily smiled. "That's the advantage of having a few powerful sorcerers on your side. Or a charmess."

Leon looked questioningly at Emily. "You can transport us out of here?"

Emily snorted. "You act like it would be a challenge."

Arthur looked around out his small remaining force and rested his gaze on Gwen. He turned to Emily. "Get us out of here."

Emily smiled. "It will take a while. It's a long spell."

Arthur nodded. "Just get us out of here."

Emily beckoned to Merlin. "Help me draw the circle."

"I don't know-"

"I'm implanting what it should look like," Emily said quickly. She held her hand over Merlin's head and a flow of energy passed between them. Merlin nodded and Emily handed him a piece of chalk. "Here."

Merlin started to draw an intricate circle around Emily. Emily stood in the middle of the circle and chanted.

"Et pictura nobis est in animo notatur. Quo nos longe aliter cogito. Incolumisque ab elementis nos. Hoc facere cito et effective cum custodiens tuta nobis et exigere. Et defer in hoc loco accipere extra Camelot. Emrys virtus sufficit si de virtute ac commodo. Volens." **(If you really care what she said, here you go. Translation: "Detect the picture in my mind and take us there. Take us far away and exactly where I am thinking about. Keep us safe and unharmed from the elements. Do this quickly and efficiently while keeping us safe and exact. Take all the people in this room and carry them outside Camelot. If my power is not sufficient please take some of Emrys's power as well. He is willing.")**

Merlin finished the circle and stood back to admire his handiwork. He took a quick glance at Emily and saw she was still deep in her spell. He knew, after all, it was a very complicated spell.

Merlin saw Leon staring at Emily completely lost in thought. After making sure Arthur didn't need him, Merlin joined Leon. Leon was jerked out of his deepest thought when Merlin nudged Leon's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked.

Leon shook his head. "Nothing important."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Come on. Out with it."

Leon sighed and said, "I'm worried about Emily."

"Anything more specific than that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you worried about Emily?"

Leon smiled sadly. "Everything. Everything she does is dangerous."

Merlin nodded. "What do you expect from the heir to the throne of Almaria?"

Leon sighed again. "I guess. It's just…hard…on our relationship. I mean, she's the queen of Almaria! The queen! And I'm just a knight from Camelot…"

"You're not just a knight. You're second-in-command and you're one of the most trusted advisors to the king!" Merlin protested.

"And that's another thing! I'm needed here in Camelot, and Emily is needed in Almaria!"

Merlin sighed. "You love Emily right?" Leon nodded. "And Emily loves you." Another nod. "So, everything will work out. Love always prevails after all."

"I suppose…" Leon said.

"Traicerentur, qui hoc circulo excedas intus ad extra Camelot. Nunc libero mi, mitte nos in manu tua, et uti justo," Emily finished. **(Emily said: Transport the people who step inside this circle to outside Camelot. Now be free, my magic and use your force to send us away.)**

"Finished," Emily said as she stepped outside the circle. As she stepped outside, white light erupted from the circle and flowed upwards. After a few seconds, the light died down and Camelot knights stared on in awe.

Leon muttered, "Never thought Arthur would be okay with magic in his castle."

"Neither did I," Arthur muttered back.

Emily took a shaky step and almost fell. Brandon caught her and slung her arm over his shoulder. "Will it work?"

"Yep, it should. It'll take us outside Camelot and will provide us with transportation," Emily breathed.

Leon stood beside Emily and reached over Brandon to Emily. He said to Brandon, "I've got her. You can go through."

Brandon turned away from Leon. "It's no problem. I can do it."

Emily grunted. "No Brandon. I can stand on my own." Emily straightened up and swayed on her feet but did not fall. Merlin moved to her side. "I'll stay by her side. You two should be on guard."

Leon and Brandon mumbled something inaudible and walked away to their respective kings. Emily put her arm over Merlin's shoulders and Merlin put his arm around Emily's waist. Emily said tiredly, "Thanks. I don't think I could put up with them right now."

Merlin smiled. "No problem. You would do the same for me."

"With no hesitation."

Arthur stood up and got everyone's attention. "Okay, now we go through the portal. I know everyone is not keen to run away, I'm not either. But we have some with us that can't fight and we must get them to safety."

Gwen sniffed. "That's offensive."

"You know I love you. And I know you wouldn't go if I didn't come with you."

Gwen nodded. "Let's go through first, _together_."

Arthur nodded and took Gwen's hand. Hand in hand they walked into the circle and in a blinding flash, they were gone.

….~….

**So, obviously, the winning choice was the battle against Cenred…with the Leon vs. Brandon thing.**

**Is the third person better than the Emily/Leon POV? Which do you (the readers) like better?**


	2. Journey to Almaria

**Big thanks to all that followed/favorited! Special thanks to mycousinmiguel and DandelionViolet for reviewing!**

**Due to mycousinmiguel's and DandelionViolet's suggestion, I will continue this story in 3****rd****person! ****Hope you enjoy it!**

_Chapter 2__– Journey to Almaria_

After Gwen and Arthur stepped into the circle, everyone shortly followed until only Merlin, Leon, Brandon, and Emily remained. Emily, who was still relying on Merlin's help, walked into the circle and with a blinding flash, both were gone.

Leon and Brandon stood awkwardly for a moment before Brandon said, "You go first. I've got to say a quick spell to make the circle undo itself once we get through."

Leon nodded and walked into the circle. Immediately after entering the circle, Leon felt a force pull at his stomach and gravity seemed to go haywire. Leon was being pulled in all different directions when suddenly, the ground reappeared underneath his feet. Leon opened his eyes and saw he was just outside Camelot in a clearing with the other knights and Gwen.

Percival appeared at Leon's side. "You feeling all right?"

Leon shook his head. "I feel like I'm going to puke."

Gwaine appeared on Leon's other side. "It's a side effect. It goes away very quickly though."

Leon nodded and swallowed with great effort.

In a flash, Brandon appeared and stumbled. He leaned on Percival to remain upright. He said tiredly, "Ended the spell. Didn't do much…and I can't understand how you're still conscious Emily."

From Emily's position beside Merlin, she smiled weakly. "It's not as hard for me as it is for you."

Leon heard Brandon mutter, "Bullcrap." But otherwise, Brandon said nothing.

Merlin helped Emily limp over to the edge of the clearing. There he discreetly said, "I'm going to give you some of my magic so you recover faster. So don't reject it."

Emily shook her head. "That's not necessary."

Merlin snorted. "Do you want to remain conscious?"

When Emily had no clever retort, Merlin placed a careful hand on Emily's forehead. His eyes flashed gold and magic flowed into Emily. Emily sighed with the relief it brought. It soothed her aching muscles and quieted her pounding head. "Thanks Merlin."

Merlin nodded. "You should really eat something."

"What do expect to find out here in the woods?"

Merlin glanced around and said, "Well, there are some edible berries out here…"

"That look just like the poisonous berries," Emily finished.

Merlin sighed. "True."

Emily slumped against Merlin once again. "I'm so tired."

"That was powerful magic Emily. You shouldn't be up and walking around immediately after you completed it, especially since at least ten people used it."

Emily grimaced. "It's not like we can just stand around here waiting for me to rest up. Once Cenred realizes we aren't in that room anymore, he'll send search parties out. We have to leave now."

"You still have to rest; you'll pass out if you don't do it voluntarily."

Emily grunted. "I'll sleep while riding. It'll save time."

"And how exactly do plan to sleep while riding?"

"I, um, I'll lean against someone."

"Leon?" Merlin teased.

"That's the plan," Emily admitted sheepishly.

"Just make sure it's Leon and not Brandon."

"Why not?"

"Just…because."

Merlin helped Emily back into the midst of things. She announced, "We have to move. It's best if we set off now."

Arthur spoke up. "And where are we going?"

Emily looked incredulously at Arthur. "Almaria. Where else?"

Arthur found his feet to be suddenly interesting. "I don't know…"

"Okay, well then…saddle up and move out."

Gwaine asked, "And where are our horses?"

"They should almost be here…" Emily started.

The sound of hoof beats filled the clearing. Horses filled the clearing and headed to their respective owners. Each owner greeted his (her) horse surprisingly. Elyan asked what they were all thinking, "How did our horses find us?"

"Before I set up the teleport circle, I sent messages to the horses to meet us at this spot. We just arrived here before they did," Emily explained.

"Wow, I never knew magic had so many useful applications," Arthur admitted.

"You never know unless you try," Merlin said distractedly as he stroked the mane of his horse.

Brandon clapped his hands. "Suit up. We ride out in five minutes."

Merlin and Emily approached Leon. Merlin started, "Emily should ride with you. She can barely support herself."

"Hey!" Emily interjected. "I can do just fine; I just want to have a bit of rest, that's all."

"Sure…" Merlin tease was interrupted when Emily weakly punched him in the arm.

Leon smiled. "It's no problem at all. Who will lead your horse then?"

"Probably Bryce or Brandon."

"Oh," Leon said sadly.

"Oh what?" Emily asked.

"Nothing, just…nothing."

"If it's something, you should tell me."

"Really, it's nothing."

"You sure?" Emily shot Leon a questioning glance.

"I'm positive. We better get ready," Leon said shooting a gaze at Brandon.

"You get on first."

Leon mounted his horse with ease. The horse snorted and stamped his foot as his familiar rider was again on his back. Emily reached up for Leon's hand, and with Merlin's help, mounted the horse in front of Leon. Emily looked back at Merlin. "Can you please tie my horse behind yours?"

Merlin nodded and walked off towards his and Emily's horse. Leon smiled and asked, "I thought you would tether your horse to Bryce or Brandon's horse?"

Emily shrugged. "I decided against it."

Leon grunted but said nothing more. By this time, everyone else had mounted and were ready to go. Brandon's eyes briefly flashed toward Emily and Leon and they glowered in anger. _How dare he?_

Brandon said coldly, "Time to go." He rode off leaving everyone else behind.

Bryce flashed Emily a questioningly look before riding after the knight. One by one, everyone followed. As they headed towards Almaria, Emily leaned back into Leon's chest. Usually the jerks and pulls of the horse would keep Emily awake, but at the moment they were only lulling her to sleep. She muttered sleepily, "Home. I'm going home."

Leon smiled and rested his chin on Emily's head. "And I'll be right there with you."

Emily smiled and snuggled closer into Leon's chest. After a few more minutes, she fell asleep and together they rode.

…..~…

"Let's make camp here."

Bryce's commanding voice shocked Emily out of her sleep. She would have fallen off of the horse if not for Leon's strong arms around her.

"Easy there," Leon grinned as he secured Emily in the saddle.

"Sorry," Emily muttered sheepishly.

"It's okay. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me ride with you, and for not letting me fall off the horse."

Leon grinned as Emily slid off the horse and onto solid ground. As her legs held, Leon released his hand and dismounted. He tied his horse to a tree and returned to Emily's side. Emily was surveying the clearing at which they stopped.

It was 20 feet in diameter at most. The surrounding trees were thick and full of thick brush. It was hard to imagine they had been riding through that. The clearing had rocks strewn throughout it as well as several small bushes.

"We'll stay here for six hours. There will be two shifts. The first shift Percival, Gwaine, Elyan and I will keep guard. On the second shift, Arthur, Rowena, Owen, and Cedrim will stay up. Sleep well," Bryce announced.

"Hey wait a second!" Emily called. "Why am I not on guard duty?"

Bryce rolled his eyes. "You need to sleep. You just performed some intense magic. You should rest."

"I slept the whole ride here! I should be on guard!" Emily protested.

"Same here!" Brandon agreed. "I didn't do much work!"

Bryce shook his head. "You two need to sleep."

"No!" Emily and Brandon protested at the same time.

"Is there any chance in making you two sleep?"

"None at all," Brandon said with a smirk.

"Fine, you two take first shift instead of Gwaine and Elyan."

Gwaine and Elyan cheered and got out their bedrolls. "Night all!" Gwaine called and flopped onto the ground.

The others took similar actions and soon all were out. Bryce, Brandon, Emily and Percival sat around a small campfire in the center of the clearing.

Percival asked, "Should we have a campfire? It could alert Cenred to our position."

Bryce smiled, "You forget we have magic. I have placed a jinx on the fire so it creates no smoke."

"Oh."

They sat in silence before Bryce suggested, "Percival you should go to sleep. We've got guard. We don't expect anything to happen and if something does, all three of us are magic users. We'll be fine."

Percival looked doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Brandon confirmed.

"Okay then." Percival rose, still suspicious, and gathered his things to sleep. He laid down with the knights of Camelot and soon was sleeping.

Brandon said, "He's asleep. I can feel his relaxed state."

"Good," Bryce said. "Now Emily, we have to talk."

"About what?" Emily said suspiciously.

"I'm assuming you want us to take Camelot's side in this war…" Bryce started.

"Of course."

"So then Almaria will go to war…" Brandon continued.

"And…" Emily prompted.

"And Almaria will need a strong, undisputed ruler," Bryce finished. Both men looked meaningfully at their long time friend/sister.

Emily sighed. "Is this your way of saying you want me to rule?"

Bryce and Brandon nodded.

"I don't know…" Emily started.

Brandon interrupted, "Come on! You are the perfect ruler. You understand best the effect Darius had on Almaria. The peasants like you just as much as the nobles do. You are admired by the children, almost to the point where you are legend. Everyone is willing to follow you and die for you."

"But I don't want people to die for me."

Bryce said quietly, "It's part of being a ruler. You must be prepared for it."

Emily remained quiet for some time. "Are you sure I can do it? I have not been in Almaria for some time. I do not think I am the right person for the job."

"Of course you can do it!" Brandon said rather loud. At Emily and Bryce's shushes, he lowered his voice and continued, "Almaria has deteriorated since you have been banished. If anyone can mold Almaria into the best it can be, you can."

"That's all very inspiring, but that does not mean I can."

"Why are you being such an insecure girl?" Bryce said frustrated. "You know damn well you can do this if you set your mind to it!"

Emily glowered at Bryce who shrank back slightly. "This has nothing to be with me being a girl. It's about forcing my way upon the throne."

Brandon chuckled. "I do not think anyone will have any protests about Darius being overthrown."

"Not even the nobles?"

Bryce shook his head. "You do not realize how bad life in Almaria has been without you there. Darius was free to do as he liked, and to Brandon and my shame, he did. We could not stop him or control him as you did."

"I did not control him. I merely negotiated with him."

Brandon snorted. "He did not wish to negotiate with us."

They sat in silence for a while. Emily finally said, "Fine. I'll do it."

Bryce and Brandon shared a smug smile. They knew Emily would take the job in the end.

Emily said a quick protection spell and a boundary surrounded the clearing. She leaned against Brandon's shoulder and yawned. "Maybe it would be better if I had slept."

Bryce rolled his eyes. "Go ahead. You put a protection spell. Brandon and I can do the rest."

"Thanks," Emily yawned and closed her eyes. Soon her breathing was steady indicating she was asleep.

Brandon let Emily lean against him. He reveled in her body so close to his and with smugness thought about Emily was leaning against him, not Leon.

I mean, what did that Knight of Camelot have that he didn't?

….~….

**Wooo! Chapter 2 done and up! Enjoy!**


	3. Almaria

**As usual, many thanks for the favs and follows. Special thanks to DandelionViolet, ekg1997, and mycousinmiguel for reviewing!**

_Chapter 3__ – Almaria_

"That's it," Brandon said pointing at the horizon.

From the horizon loomed a large tan castle that looked similar to Camelot's. The Almaria castle had eight towers and was slightly taller.

Leon glanced at Emily. She was smiling and sat straight up in her horse. She was also slightly pale and swayed in her saddle. _Emily should really eat something…_

"Home," Emily breathed. "I can't believe I'm finally going home."

Brandon turned around and smiled at Emily. "It'll be nice to finally have you home."

Leon couldn't help the sharp pang that ran through his chest. Brandon had grown up with Emily…did that mean they had a special connection? Leon shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. He trusted Emily. She wouldn't betray him. Surely not?

Bryce snorted. "Have I not been enough for the past couple of years?"

Brandon faced the royal. "Well…"

Bryce's eyes flashed gold and Brandon's horse reared and threw him off. Luckily, Bryce had the common decency to create a nice fluffy pillow for him to land on. Still, Brandon landed hard on his butt.

Brandon growled, "Was that necessary?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Do I need to separate you two?"

Rowena spurred her horse until it was beside her lover, Bryce's. "You have no idea how much they have been at it with you gone. Please, make it stop. I'm begging you."

Bryce's eyes flashed with brief annoyance. "Surely we haven't…"

The remaining Almarian knights: Rowena, Owen, and Derek, interrupted, "Yes you have!"

Brandon rolled his eyes and stood. He eyed his horse which was now running off far in the distance. "A little help here?"

Emily sighed and held her hand out to Brandon. He gladly took it and swung up behind Emily. Leon's face grew hot as he saw Brandon reach his arms around Emily to pet her horse. "Thank you. Some people aren't as merciful as you…" Brandon's gaze shifted meaningfully towards Bryce.

Bryce raised his hands up in defense. "Hey, you deserved it!"

Brandon threw his arm up in desperation. "That doesn't mean you should scare off my horse. I'll probably never see that horse again." Brandon sat in thought for a moment before continuing quietly, "She was a good war horse too."

Bryce sneered. "Are you mourning the loss of your horse?"

"And what if I am?"

"Well then-"

"SHUT UP!" Emily roared. "You'll both be walking if you don't shut your mouths!"

Bryce and Brandon simmered but said nothing more.

Rowena said peacefully, "It's about time someone shut you two up."

Brandon opened his mouth to say something but at Emily's angry glare, he shut his mouth.

Owen laughed and said, "Good choice."

Percival watched the exchange confused. "Do you always argue like this?"

Bryce and Brandon nodded while everyone else said in unison, "Yep."

Percival shook his head. "But you guys are royals, surely there is some ounce of respect towards you?"

Emily sighed. "You would think so…"

Brandon snorted and the other knights of Almaria wore smug smiles.

At Percival's confused expression, Rowena said, "Well, there's an unsaid understanding in Almaria. The knights and servants are equal with the royals."

Owen added, "Well, Emily and Bryce anyway. Darius never found it in him to admit anyone else was important."

Emily ground her teeth at the mention of her father. Beside her, Leon noticed her reaction and gave her a reassuring smile. Emily forced a smile back.

Rowena nodded and continued, "We're allowed to goof off and kid around as long as we know when it's time to get serious. When there is a war, we must be serious and when either royal is in a bad mood, we have to get serious _quick_."

"Bad mood?" Emily and Bryce said in unison.

Derek rolled his eyes, "Yes, bad mood. You both are really grouchy sometimes…"

Bryce sniffed and rode on in stony silence. Emily took a deep breath and bit her lip. Emily muttered sarcastically, "Speaking about bad moods, great job. You've managed to make Bryce and me mad at the same time!"

"Sorry," Rowena and Derek muttered.

Leon heard Emily mumble something like, "Trying not to destroy you three right now."

Leon's eyes widened and he looked around to see if anyone else heard. No one seemed to be concerned so Leon assumed he was the only one who heard.

After a moments silence, Emily said, "Come on. We have to pick up the pace." She grinned at her fellow Almarians. "Race you to the gate?"

Brandon grinned and nodded. Brandon, Bryce, Rowena, Emily, Owen, and Derek all spurred their horses onward and the Camelot citizens remained behind watching.

Elyan sat in wonder before saying, "Their horses run fast. How?"

Arthur sighed. "I can only assume special breeding and strength training."

Leon nodded. "Emily once told me about special horse breeding at Almaria."

Arthur glanced at Gwen before looking back at the looming castle. "Come on. We'll have to join them."

They all spurred their horses and entered the magical kingdom of Almaria.

…~…..

Almaria's main street was bustling with activity. The street led all the way up from the gates to the main doors of the castle. Lining the streets were carts with vendors trying to sell everyday people things from beautiful flowers to protective amulets.

As the procession made its way, the crowd parted and stared in awe. Their princess had finally returned home.

Whispered rumors were passed quickly:

"There is no Darius; that means Princess Emily killed him."

"Princess Emily wouldn't kill King Darius. She is much too kind."

"King Darius must have got sick and died."

"King Darius ran off with a servant girl."

"King Darius was killed by King Arthur of Camelot and his men."

After Emily had made her way in the street, she dismounted and led her horse. Everyone followed her example. As she was walking, she approached a peasant family. "Brom! Selena! You had your child! What's her name?" Emily reached down and patted the three year old girl's arm affectionately.

When the girl back away, her mother nudged her forward again. The mother and father shared a grin, obviously pleased the princess still remembered them. "Her name is Arya. Isn't she beautiful?"

Emily knelt in front of the girl and conjured a flower from thin air. She placed the flower in the long girl's hair and said, "Yes, as beautiful as a blooming flower." Arya smiled and Brom and Selena beamed.

Emily stood and greeted the next family. "James! Lily! How are you? And how is little Remus doing?"

Beside James and Lily was a small ten year old boy. Emily crouched down next to him and from his side drew a fake wooden sword. She brandished it in the air and said, "Lovely sword you've got. Where'd you get it?"

With prompting from the boy's mother, Remus said, "My father, James, made it for me." Remus drew in his chest and said confidently, "I want to be a knight someday!"

Emily smiled and placed her hand on the boy's cheek. "And I have no doubt that you can accomplish that dream!"

After that, Emily moved from family to family, never getting a name wrong or forgetting who they are or what they had done.

The procession of Almaria and Camelot citizens followed in partial awe. There were so many people…and Emily knew them all. After a time, Bryce joined Emily in greeting the people. Emily watched approvingly as Bryce moved about the people never getting a name wrong. She murmured, "Good. You listened to my advice. You know the people personally and talk to them."

Bryce nodded and moved to the next family.

The whole process took over an hour but it felt like no time at all. The shock and meaning in the two royals words never stopped astounding people. As they made their way through the crowd, many wore big smiles and were talking happily.

"Did you see that? The princess knew my name!"

"The prince greeted me by name and asked how my apothecary business was going! He knew!"

"I always knew that Princess Emily and Prince Bryce were worth loads more than their father, King Darius."

At the last statement, Emily frowned but said nothing. Eventually, they made their way into the castle and into, what Leon presumed, was the throne room.

In the throne room was a large throne, big enough to sit two normal sized people. When Emily saw it, she shook her head and said to the guards, "I don't want that in here. Darius no longer runs this kingdom and I want nothing of his arrogance left in this castle."

The guards nodded and set off to clean the castle of Darius's mark. Throughout the day, all portraits of Darius were torn down and stowed away in the vaults along with his many dark, prized possessions.

Emily walked into the throne room and looked around. She murmured, "So much has changed…" She turned to an Almarian Knight and ordered, "Gather the advisors. We must meet and talk."

Within five minutes, five people stood at the door. Emily introduced them one by one.

She indicated a tall, balding man dressed in knights' robes. "This is Sir Oldrin, master battle strategist."

A young, energetic man she introduced as Michael, leader of the magical forces in Almaria.

Salazar was a merchant that worked in town that represented the people (peasants) of Almaria.

Sir Cedrim was one of the eldest knights and most trusted advisor.

Last but not least, Lady Helen was a beautiful and trusted advisor that Emily had grown up with.

Emily then introduced all of the Camelot visitors and then addressed the group, "I come bearing both good and bad news. First, I'm not sure if this is good or bad. I have overthrown Darius. I am tired of his tyranny and will stand for it no longer. I hope I can still count on you as my trusted advisors." The room nodded. "Good. Second, we are now in a treaty with Camelot." More nods, though hesitant this time. "Third, earlier this week, Camelot was attacked by Cenred. I plan to stand with Camelot and give her the help she needs in taking down Cenred."

Sir Oldrin said, "Is this wise, Princess? Should we stand out against Cenred so publically? Now, Cenred considers us as a neutral country. If we aide Camelot, we will be jeopardizing much."

Emily nodded. "I have thought this through. I believe helping Camelot is the best decision." Emily sighed. "I had been living in Camelot for awhile before they discovered who I was. I met with the leaders and found them to be good, honest people. I know for a fact that King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are both good people and rule their kingdom in a just, honest way."

All eyes turned to the Camelot party at this remark. Gwen blushed slightly but did not avert her gaze.

Emily continued, "Cenred's terror must stop, just like my father's did. Besides, Cenred counted my father as a friend; he would not tolerate me overthrowing him."

Oldrin nodded, "Very well."

Emily turned and walked towards the area where the Camelot residents were standing. "There is one other thing I think you should know about." Emily took a breath and reached for Leon's hand. Leon grasped her hand and squeezed comfortingly.

The Almarian advisors could barely keep the shock off their faces. Lady Helen reacted first. She squealed, "Oh Emily! I knew you would find a man some day!" Helen raced over to Emily and gave her a tight hug.

As the hug broke Emily smiled, "Thank you Helen."

Sir Cedrim reacted next. He walked over and hugged the girl he had come to see as a daughter. "I'm so happy for you." He kissed her head and released the hug. Cedrim shook Leon's hand with as much force as the old man could muster. "And you, young man, if you hurt her…let's just say that even with my old body, I can put up a good fight."

Leon's eyes widened and he visibly paled. Emily sighed and chastised, "Cedrim!"

Cedrim merely smiled and limped away.

Michael smiled and shook Leon's hand. "Basically…what the old man said…but I'm not old…and I'll put up a good fight." Michael's eyes flashed gold and Leon saw the hidden threat. _Don't hurt Emily or I will magically put you in as much pain as I possibly can._

Oldrin approached Emily and Leon. "It is glad to see that you have found someone, my Princess. I hope you two are very happy together."

"Thank you Sir Oldrin."

Last, Salazar approached with a wide grin. "I can't wait to tell the people! Most will be thrilled but I must say, many young men hearts will be broken."

Emily frowned and before she could say anything, Salazar backed away.

Chatter had taken up since the announcement and Emily shouted, "One final thing!" After she had everyone's attention she continued, "Since Almaria will soon be going to war, we need an official leader. Originally, I had planned to remain in Camelot and let Bryce act as regent, but now that we are in a time of war, I will take the place of the throne and lead Almaria into battle."

Leon struggled to keep his face mutual. Emily would be leading the Almarian kingdom, without him. She would be in a spot where she would be in constant danger. Then again, Emily can take care of herself…

Brandon enjoyed watching the look of surprise of Leon's face. Now Emily was in a position where he would get to be near her all the time, not Leon. Let Leon find out the hard way that he and Emily were meant to be. **(Random A/N: You know…originally, Brandon was never supposed to be a bad guy…at all. This is really odd for me to write…but strangely, I like it!)**

Smiles broke out in the room and Sir Oldrin said, "I can't imagine anyone else doing as good as job as you, milady."

At seeing Bryce's face, Sir Cedrim added, "Oh come on Bryce! You have to admit, Emily does have a certain aura around her."

Bryce hesitated and then nodded. "Long live the Queen!"

Others took up the chant and Emily wished she could vanish.

"Long live the Queen!"

"Long live the Queen!"

"Long live the Queen!"

…~…..

**So…what'd you think? I tried to make the Almarian characters decent…**

**Tell me what you think of them…particularly Michael and Salazar…they were my favorite!**

**I put two different references to other books in here! They were only names because I was drawing a blank for any names. Can you find them?**


	4. Allies

_Chapter 4__ – Allies_

"Sire! There's a woman insisting to see you," a reluctant guard called from outside the throne room.

Cenred sighed and waved at the guard. "And why does she think I should give her an audience?"

The reply was very reluctant. "The woman…she's the Lady Morgana."

Cenred nearly choked on his own saliva. He hadn't seen Morgana since her last attempt on Arthur's life. She would not be pleased to see that he took over Camelot on his own and didn't even have Arthur captured. "Send her in."

Morgana strode into the room and Cenred gestured for his men to leave. "Hello, Lady Morgana."

Morgana reared on Cenred. "How dare you!"

Cenred raised an eyebrow. "How dare I? I'm afraid I do not understand you, my lady."

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! You attack and take over Camelot without even informing me of your plans! Then, you let Arthur get away!"

Cenred shook his head. "Like you did so many times."

Morgana glowered at Cenred. "Watch your tongue. If I had no use for you, I would kill you for that."

Cenred grinned. "But you do have further use for me milady."

Morgana's green eyes bored into Cenred. "Yes, I do. I want you to find Arthur and capture him. While you're at it, take that Emily girl. She and I have some unfinished business."

Though Morgana's tone was dismissive, Cenred did not move. "Does this mean I have your alliance?"

Morgana stood silent for a moment before asking, "Do you require my open support of your actions?"

Cenred frowned. "No, I do not. I was wondering if I could count on you for support in this war."

Morgana sneered. "I suppose so. I will stand beside you against Arthur and his men."

"Even if Almaria sides with Camelot?"

Morgana's smirk morphed into a frown. "Why would Almaria ally with Camelot? Almaria is a magic using nation."

"It seems that girl, Emily, that you ran into is the princess of Almaria. And that same girl fell in love with Sir Leon," Cenred smirked.

Morgana's evil grin grew again. "Leon. I remember him. He was one of Arthur's favorite knights and he has seemed to become another royal's favorite. I bet he loves it."

"No doubt, my lady."

Morgana stood in thought, formulating her evil plan. "Okay, we head out with a few of your men. I have a plan…

"After all, all's fair in love and war."

…~…

"Why have you gathered us here?" Brandon asked Emily curiously.

Merlin, Leon, Emily, Brandon, Michael, Rowena, Gwaine and Percival were gathered in Emily's chambers. Emily motioned to a table in her room. "Please, take a seat."

Everyone moved hesitantly to the chairs and sat down. Brandon was about to speak again when Emily said, "I've gathered you here for a mission."

"Then why isn't Bryce here?" Rowena asked suspiciously.

"Because if this mission goes badly, we still need someone to run Almaria."

"Well, isn't that cheerful?" Gwaine muttered sarcastically.

Percival heard him and bit back a smile. "What is this mission?"

Emily turned to look everyone in the eye. "You've all heard of the kingdom Waymeth?"

As all the Camelot knights shook their heads, Brandon snorted. "Of course they haven't. If they had, they would have immediately set out to destroy them, just like they do for every magical kingdom they know about. Except for Almaria, because even Uther wasn't stupid enough to attack Almaria. We are-"

"Shut your mouth!" Arthur shouted and rose from his seat.

Brandon stood up as well and faced Arthur. "It's the truth. You've got to realize Almaria is stronger than Camelot. I mean, we don't persecute people just for being born."

"That's not-"

"SHUT UP!" Leon shouted. All eyes turned to him in wonder, except Emily's. Hers expressed gratitude.

"Listen up," Emily started. "We have to work together, like it or not. To defeat Cenred we have to act like allies and allies do not argue like children!" When Brandon opened his mouth to speak in protest, Emily continued, "I do not want to hear excuses, I want to see action. It is awfully pathetic to think, that you Brandon, and you Arthur, should argue at a time like this. Both of you know better and you should know to keep your heads down."

Brandon and Arthur hung their heads in identical shame. Arthur started, "In my defense-"

"No. I don't want to hear it."

Arthur and Brandon sat down slowly and Emily sighed. "As I was saying, Waymeth is a small kingdom in which sorcerers and witches are welcome. It is small and unknown to most kingdoms and rulers. Almaria secretly sends supplies once a year to restock their supplies and armories. Waymeth has grown much stronger in the last ten years and they can now support their own. I think it is time for them to return the favor."

Michael asked, "So we will go and ask them to join us in our war?"

Percival said, "Will they join us?"

Emily shrugged. "It's possible. It's even more likely if I go and ask personally. I know the king quite well and if he sees me asking, he'll probably say yes."

Leon narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Just how close are you?"

Emily laughed. "Relax, if any relationship is there, it is a father-daughter relationship. When I was young and would get frustrated with my father, I would run away to Waymeth. King Ulric has always been a good friend."

Leon smiled and placed his hand around Emily's. "I'm sorry. I'm just-"

Gwaine covered his ears. "Ah! Mushy gushy stuff! Cut it out, cut it out!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Emily. "And you call me a child…"

Emily shook her head and smiled at Leon. She sent a mental thought, _Kiss me._

_Now?_ Leon's eyebrows rose.

_Yes. Of course._

_Just to drive Gwaine nuts right?_

_Partially. _ Emily smiled.

_What do you mean?_

_It's been at least a day since you kissed me._

Leon smiled and leant over towards Emily. Emily met his lips and Gwaine cringed. Rowena laughed. "I'm so happy you found someone."

Emily and Leon broke the kiss and grinned at Gwaine. Gwaine had his face hidden behind his hands and was pretending to gag. Michael, who was sitting beside him, clapped a hand on his shoulder and taunted, "Just because you're terrified to have feelings doesn't mean other people don't have them."

Gwaine scowled. "What do you mean I'm scared to have feelings?"

Michael shrugged. "You're scared to commit to one woman. It's understandable especially from a man like you."

"And I suppose you have a wife who you've been devoted to your whole life?"

Michael shook his head. "Nope! I don't even have a love interest. But I'm not scared to have one." He tapped his nose. "There's a difference."

Gwaine frowned and said grumpily, "So continuing with the mission…"

Emily took pity on Gwaine and said, "Getting back on topic, we leave tonight at dusk."

"Tonight? Isn't that kind of early?" Arthur asked.

"We need Waymeth's support as soon as possible. Get packed and outside before the sun sets."

"Where should we meet?" Leon asked.

"At the royal stables. Everyone will receive royal mounts," Emily replied.

Brandon stood. "I've got to go check up on Bryce."

"So do I," said Rowena.

"Okay, we'll reconvene later," Emily dismissed.

Emily rose with Leon and headed towards the door. Everyone followed suit and rose from their seats except Merlin. Merlin called, "Emily, can I talk with you?" When Emily gestured to Leon, Merlin continued, "He can stay too."

Arthur glanced back at his manservant worriedly but Merlin shook him off and said, "Go on. This is a trivial matter. It's just about a bet she placed with me awhile back."

Emily kept her expression hidden from Arthur. Merlin had just lied. She had never made any bets with Merlin.

Once everyone was out of the door, Emily asked, "What's wrong?"

Merlin sighed and said, "I saw a vision a few moments ago."

"And what was in this vision?" Leon asked.

Merlin glanced skeptically at Leon before continuing, "Well, Cenred was there and he was sitting in the Camelot council chambers and Morgana joined him."

Emily exhaled sharply. "Are they joining forces?"

"I believe so."

Leon pursed his lips. "That is not good."

Merlin laughed shortly. "You have no idea."

Leon stared in awe of Merlin. "What do you mean?"

"Morgana is a high priestess of the Old Religion. She can do things even I have trouble doing sometimes," Merlin admitted.

Emily scoffed, "You still have more power than her."

Merlin nodded. "As do you but can we together face all of her magical creations and curses?"

Emily sighed. "I do not know."

The three sat in silence before Leon asked, "Emily why weren't you able to see the vision?"

Emily smiled sheepishly. "Charmesses have never been good with 'The Third Eye'."

Merlin snorted. "I'm not a Seer either but I still saw the vision."

Emily glowered at Merlin. "Charmesses have magic that is the opposite of 'The Third Eye'."

"And what magic is that?"

Emily's eyes glowed gold. "My healing magic."

"Ah yes. That not useful magic that only heals you. Must come in handy a lot," Merlin muttered sarcastically.

Leon stared at both bewildered. "Wait…what?

Emily explained, "My healing magic flows through my veins. It can only be used to heal me and it is useless if I want to heal other people. If I use a healing spell on a person that is not myself, it takes 2-3 times more energy to complete the spell than most people."

Emily turned to Merlin. "It's not like you're any good at healing spells either Merlin!"

Merlin held up his hands in defense. "At least it's possible for me!"

Emily shook her head. "You're like the younger brother I never wanted."

"Aren't I older than you?"

Emily punched Merlin's shoulder lightly. "Shut up!"

…..~…..

"Is everyone here?" Emily asked.

The group was gathered in the royal stable with their appointed Almarian horse. After a chorus of 'yes's, Emily led the group out of the gates and across the plain.

Leon rode by Emily and they conversed.

"Leon, how did you become second-in-command at Camelot?"

Leon smiled, remembering. "I saved Arthur's life, more than once."

"How so?" Emily asked intrigued.

"Arthur was on patrol with a group of men that included me. The first time I saved his life, he almost fell off a cliff. He got too close to the edge and he stumbled. I caught the back of his armor just in time and pulled him back. He, of course, was too furious to speak and he stormed off without saying anything."

Emily smiled. "How else?"

"The second time was when bandits attacked. They had Arthur surrounded and when one was about to run him through, I beheaded him."

"Lucky Arthur," Emily speculated.

"He didn't see it that way. He saw it to be embarrassing that he got saved by the same knight twice on the same patrol. And it didn't stop there."

Emily rolled her eyes. "What else did he do?"

"Arthur was about to eat some nightshade berry, which is poisonous, when I hit his hand and knocked it from his hand. He thought I did it just to mess around with him. Luckily, another knight stepped in and pointed out the berries were poisonous."

"He really was pigheaded back then, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was. Then he met Merlin. And he changed."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Merlin? Merlin got Arthur to stop being a brat?"

"Yes. It was quite amazing to watch. It was infuriating at first, to see a servant address a royal with such a disrespectful tone but Arthur didn't seem to mind it. So we, the knights, didn't mind it. Merlin eventually grew on us and we came to rely on him to stand up to Arthur about his half-minded plans."

"Wow…"

"It was quite amazing…"

Brandon rode up beside Emily before she could reply to Leon. Brandon said, "Arthur was wondering how long this trip would take."

"If we ride through the night, we should be there by dawn. However, I don't think the Camelot knights are used to riding all night so we'll stop and rest. If we do that, we'll reach Waymeth by midday."

"Good. I'll tell him."

Leon noticed Brandon's gaze lingered a little too long on Emily for Brandon to consider Emily just a friend. Leon took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Brandon wouldn't dare make a move on Emily while she was courting Leon. And since Leon didn't plan on ever breaking up with Emily, Brandon would never get a chance to tell Emily how he feels…right?

The party rode in companionable silence for a while. Once the sun had set, Emily called for a halt. "We make camp here. Brandon you set up the smokeless fire. Rowena, see if you can find anything around in these woods to cook over the fire. The rest of you, unroll your sleeping bags and help unpack."

Everyone hurried to follow Emily's orders. Once the fire was set up with Rowena's freshly caught rabbits over it, everyone gathered around the warmth. Emily sat between Merlin and Leon. She leaned her weight against Leon and laid her head on his shoulder. Leon put a protective arm around her and held her close. No one spoke for awhile before Percival, who was in charge of cooking said, "The rabbits are done."

Soon plates were filled and stomachs were stuffed and once again everyone sat around the campfire, though this time, not in silence. Rowena and Brandon stood guard.

Gwaine whined, "But I'm not full yet."

Percival rolled his eyes. "Well, that's all the rabbit that was there so tough luck."

Gwaine pouted. "Come on…"

Leon smiled, "Go catch another rabbit and cook it just for yourself."

Gwaine sat contemplating the idea before shaking his head. "I don't want to get eaten. It's a rotten way to go. No glory at all."

Arthur laughed. "It'd be rather funny. Poor Gwaine. He was the knight who died from hunting rabbits in the dark."

"Nice to see you all find my death hilarious," Gwaine scowled.

Before anyone could reply, Rowena called out, "We're being attacked! We must move!"

Rowena and Brandon leapt into the clearing and put out the fire magically. Emily ordered, "Stuff your things in your bags and mount your horses! Ride out!"

Before anyone had even moved, a figure appeared in front of them. Arthur immediately recognized the person.

"Morgana," Arthur growled.

…..~…

**Dun, dun, dun! Morgana is back and hungry for revenge! Yay!**

**Anyway, in the last chapter, remember how I said there were two references with the names? Well, DandelionViolet, mycousinmiguel, and a guest all saw the Harry Potter reference. With the James, Lily, and Remus?**

**Okay, well the other was from the book **_**Eragon**_** by Christopher Paolini (from **_**The Inheritance Cycle**_**). Has anybody read that book? If not, you should really read it. It's very good. Anyway, there are three characters in there: the couple Brom and Selena…and then Arya who's not related to them at all…she's just a character in the book.**


	5. Captured!

**Quick shoutout to mycousinmiguel for reviewing! You were the lone reviewer and I thank you!**

**Mycousinmiguel: I couldn't resist bringing Morgana into this. And…Camelot and Almaria have arguments throughout this whole story…*hint hint***

_Chapter 5__ – Captured!_

"Morgana," Arthur growled.

Everyone drew their weapons and faced the new threat. Emily and Merlin subconsciously inched forward, prepared to use their magic in the defense of the group.

Emily sent a mental message to Merlin: _You stay out of this. Arthur can't know you have magic._

_I can't let you fight her on your own._

_I'm not fighting her on my own. Brandon as magic as well as Rowena and Michael. They are willing to help._

Merlin simmered but finally replied, _Fine. But I don't like it._

Merlin stepped backwards. Arthur raised his sword. "What are you doing here, Morgana?"

Morgana sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know?" When no reply was given, Morgana continued, "I see Cenred has taken over your precious Camelot."

Arthur bit his lip from giving back a heated reply. Gwaine however said, "Yeah! And he was too scared to actually fight us! He snuck up on us, like a coward!"

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Gwaine…Gwaine…Gwaine. You never did know when to shut your mouth." Morgana shoved her hand out towards Gwaine and her eyes glowed gold. Before Gwaine could react, Brandon appeared in front of him, conjuring a shield spell.

Morgana's stream of fire hit the shield and dissolved. Morgana's eyes narrowed. "So magic users are betraying their own kind once again?"

Brandon said nothing back but merely kept his eyes on Morgana anticipating her next move. Morgana smirked. "If you want a magical fight, a magical fight you will get!"

On the last word, columns of fire erupted from around the group. There was no escape now. They would have to fight.

Emily stepped forward. "One of the last high priestesses of the Old Religion. What a mighty title," Emily mocked.

Morgana's eyes flashed with rage. "You-you…"

"I'm the one that beat you with sword and shield. It was quite embarrassing for you if I remember correctly?" Emily smiled mockingly.

Morgana simmered and shot a wave of magic toward Emily. Emily conjured a shield and contained the magic in a sphere. She threw the sphere up in the air where it exploded with a great flash. Morgana watched in awe as one of her best magic attacks was deflected so easily.

Emily snarled, "Is that the best you got?"

Morgana raged, "Of course not!"

Morgana called fire up from within the Earth and sent it towards Emily. Emily used her magic to try to force it back but it wasn't working. "Brandon!"

Brandon stepped in front of Emily and stopped the fire with a quick spell. Emily grumbled, "I hate my magic."

Brandon smiled at Emily's quiet comment and sent a small tornado towards Morgana. Morgana muttered, "Færlæd wawe." Brandon's tornado dissipated and Morgana sent a wave of pure magic towards Brandon. Brandon didn't have time to block and the magic absorbed into him and he collapsed.

"Brandon!" Emily cried out. She watched her friend crumple to the ground in front of her.

Morgana wasn't finished though. She sent another magic pulse towards Gwaine and he collapsed.

By now, Arthur, Percival, and Leon were by Morgana and they attacked with sword. Morgana smiled and avoided the blows. "Swefe nu."

Arthur, Percival, and Leon all fell asleep. Michael levitated them away from Morgana and set them down behind the remaining forces: Emily, Merlin, Michael, and Rowena.

Michael and Rowena attacked as one. The warlock and sorceress moved in synchronization. Emily said to Merlin, "Take care of Brandon and Gwaine. Morgana's dark magic is still coursing through their veins. Remove it."

Merlin cursed and made to move. Emily joined the fight against Morgana. Rowena shouted, "Wáce ierlic!" Morgana threw up a shield spell and the spell bounced off, completely harmless.

Michael's eyes flashed gold and storm clouds appeared above him. Lightning struck down and almost hit Morgana. Morgana's eyes flashed with worry. She teleported away from her current position to a position behind Rowena. Morgana drew a knife and stuck it next to Rowena's throat. "Stop! Or I will gut your friend right here."

Emily and Michael stopped mid-incantation. Rowena protested, "No! Keep going!"

Emily and Michael shook their heads slowly and Morgana laughed cruelly. "See…everyone has a weakness."

Emily snarled and asked, "What do you want?"

"Surrender."

Michael snorted. "Surrender?"

"Yes, surrender. Then, I will take the blade away from your friend's throat," Morgana sneered.

Emily gritted her teeth. Michael took a deep breath and whispered to Emily, "We can't."

Emily whispered back, "I know."

Michael hid his hand behind his back and created an orb of energy. Emily said defiantly, "No."

"No?" Morgana repeated taken aback. Rowena grinned triumphantly.

"No." Emily said again. "I do not surrender, nor will I ever."

Morgana gasped and while she was momentarily unfocused, Michael threw the orb at Morgana and Rowena. Rowena transported right before the orb reached them. The orb hit Morgana in the shoulder and left the area smoking.

Morgana stumbled and fell to the ground. Emily jumped on this opportunity and sent a wave of fire towards her. Morgana sent up a frantic shield but it broke under the pressure. The fire pushed Morgana back and she rolled.

At the end of the roll, Morgana flipped to her feet and sent an energy pulse to Rowena. Rowena tried to block but the pulse overwhelmed her shield and Rowena was knocked unconscious. Emily and Michael stood together in front of Rowena towards Morgana.

Emily offered, "If you leave now, we will not follow. You can leave without consequences."

Morgana looked tempted but eventually she replied, "No. Reinforcements will be here soon."

Michael glanced at Emily. He sent in a mental thought, _She's right. The reinforcements will be here soon and we'll have no chance._

Emily bit her lip. _I know. See if you can gather everyone while I distract Morgana._

_Are we teleporting out of here?_

Emily nodded. _Yep. And if it comes down to it, leave without me._

_But-_

_Just promise me._

_But-_

_Promise._

_Fine, I promise._

_You don't mean it._

_No, I don't._

Emily ended the conversation knowing that she would never convince Michael. If it came to it, she would make him leave without her.

Emily stepped away from Michael and sent a mediocre energy burst to Morgana. She blocked it easily and sent another burst back. Emily dodged and changed angles so Michael was behind Morgana's back.

Michael levitated person after person until he had everyone around a tree except for Brandon, Gwaine, and Percival. Emily continued fighting Morgana, neither gaining an advantage or disadvantage. Morgana gasped out, "You are not a mere sorceress. Are you a witch?"

Emily smiled. "I am a charmess."

"What the heck is that?"

Emily's smile grew. "You are about to find out."

Emily stretched out her arms and fire jumped to life around her. Morgana jumped and stared at the flames surrounding her and Emily. She smiled and spread her hands out toward the fire. The fire started to go out until Emily pushed more of her magic into keeping the fire alive. Morgana responded by pushing more energy into smothering the fire. The battle of strength was on.

Morgana struggled to keep the magic flow continuous. Emily was running on low magic and could feel the toll it was taking on her.

After a minute of struggle, the fire burned higher than ever and exploded as Morgana stopped her magic.

The explosion blew Emily and Morgana back and distracted Michael who dropped Gwaine in midair. Merlin hit his head off of a tree and was knocked unconscious. He landed on Rowena. Morgana recovered first and stood and noticed for the first time what Michael was doing.

"What are you doing?" Morgana screeched.

Michael glanced up at Morgana and fear flashed in his eyes. He briefly moved his eyes to Emily. Emily was curled up on the ground struggling to control her magic. When Morgana suddenly withdrew her magic, Emily had to restrain her magic quickly and the strain had torn her control over her magic.

Michael looked back to Morgana and noted the psychotic look in her eyes. She would not hesitate to kill. "Please," he begged.

Morgana smiled evilly. "Why should I grant you mercy? You wanted me dead mere moments ago?"

Michael sighed. "I cannot convince you. Very well."

Michael eyes glowed gold as he threw Morgana back with an unspoken spell. While she was preoccupied, he grabbed Emily and dragged her over to where he had gathered everyone except Brandon, Gwaine, and Percival.

Once Morgana had recovered and discovered what he was doing, she put up a shield around her, Gwaine, Percival, and Brandon.

Michael sat in a conflicted stupor for a moment before deciding that a sacrifice was necessary. He shouted, "Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús banonweard!"

Air swirled around Michael and his group and within seconds, all that was left was swirling dust.

Morgana cursed and air swept violently through the clearing. She took a deep breath and calmed her magic.

Cenred and his warriors rode in at that moment. Cenred asked, "What happened?"

Morgana snapped, "Well, since you weren't on time, I had to try to take them all on myself. And all but three escaped."

Cenred looked at the captives. "Well, one is Sir Brandon, high ranking Knight of Almaria, but I do not know the other two."

Morgana replied, "Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival of Camelot. They should both be fun captives." Morgana hid a giddy smile and ordered, "Tie them up and ride out."

She looked to her captives and smiled in glee. She might not have captured all of them, but she had captured three and that would do.

…..~….

**So…what'd you think? This was sorta hard to write and this was originally supposed to be part of last chapter…but that didn't work out. So we are a chapter behind schedule…oh well, I'll adjust the schedule.**


	6. Rescue Mission

**I just read over the last chapter and realized the battle lasted the**_**whole**___**chapter…holy cow. I thank those who reviewed (mycousinmiguel and DandelionViolet)!**

**Mycousinmiguel: Thank you so much! That means a lot! And that battle scene took a long time to write, but I think it was worth it!**

_Chapter 6__– Rescue Mission_

Michael looked around the makeshift camp he made for the recovering warriors. He had found a nice cave not too far from where he had teleported. He had originally been trying to teleport back into Almaria but teleporting was a tricky business and he had only managed to teleport a mile away from Morgana and Cenred. Despite his exhaustion, Michael had then levitated all of the unconscious warriors into a cave and started a fire. He was staring into the fire when the first one woke up.

Leon's eyes slowly fluttered open as his consciousness trickled back into him. He groaned and rubbed his aching head. Michael moved to Leon's side and asked, "Does anything hurt?"

Leon opened his eyes to meet Michael's worried face looking down on him. "My head is killing me."

Michael smiled. "That is to be expected. Nothing else hurts though right?"

Leon shook his head and instantly regretted it as his head started to pound in protest. "Nope, just that."

"Good. Now eat some soup. It's still warm since you're the first to wake."

"The first to what?" Leon bolted upright and glanced around the camp worriedly. Leon groaned as his head hurt with renewed vigor.

Michael put his hands on Leon's shoulders and slowly said, "Everyone else is unconscious. You're the first to wake."

"Morgana!" Leon cried remembering what happened earlier. "Is anyone injured? Is everyone here? Did she get away?"

Michael thrust a bowl of soup into Leon's hands and motioned for him to take a bite. After Leon hesitantly ate a spoonful, Michael said, "No one is seriously injured and yes, Morgana got away."

"Damn!" Leon swore.

Michael motioned for Leon to take another bite and Leon stuffed another spoonful into his mouth. Michael continued, "And Morgana got away with Sir Brandon and two of your men."

"Which men?" Leon asked, voice dangerously low.

"Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh god." Leon ran a hand through his hair and set the bowl of soup on the ground. "What are we going to do?"

Michael shrugged. "Probably rescue them. I do not think Lady Emily would ever leave anybody behind. She never did before and I doubt she would now."

Leon nodded. "That sounds like Emily."

Michael laughed and pointed to the soup bowl. "Best to eat that before it gets cold."

Leon nodded and picked up the bowl. He spooned another mouthful into his mouth and looked around at the remaining forces. "No one else was caught?"

Michael replied, "Just those three."

Leon did not respond; he just took another bite of soup.

…~….

The second to wake was Rowena. Ten minutes after Leon woke, Rowena's eyes fluttered open. Within seconds, Michael was by her side. He peered down at her and asked, "How do you feel?"

Rowena groaned. "Damn. I screwed up."

"Fascinating. How do you feel?"

"Like a loser," Rowena replied.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Everyone failed on this mission. That does not matter now. Now we need to work on getting our friends back."

Rowena sat straight up. "'Getting our friends back?' Who got captured?"

Michael looked at the ground shamefully. "Sir Brandon along with two Camelot men: Sir Gwaine and Percival."

Rowena's eyes widened. "Brandon? But how?"

Michael sighed. "It was all my fault-"

Leon cut in, "That I doubt."

Rowena noticed for the first time that she was not the first to wake up. She glanced over Leon and went back to the task at hand. "How?"

Michael lowered his head shamefully. "I was not powerful enough. There was limited time and I had to get us out of there. I had to leave them behind."

Rowena placed a hand on Michael's shoulder. "I'm sure you made the right decision. If you had tried to safe them then we would have all been caught." Rowena sat in silence for a moment before adding, "And two of us run two of the most powerful nations. It was the best decision at the time."

Leon nodded and Michael took a deep breath. "You're right. I can't dwell on this. I need to move on."

Rowena threw a playful punch to Michael's shoulder. "Good! Now, where's food? I'm hungry."

Michael shook his head and rose to get Rowena's bowl of soup. Rowena rolled out of her blankets and stood up. "How on Earth did that sorceress take all of us on?"

Michael handed a bowl of soup to Rowena. "She's not a sorceress; she's a witch and a high priestess of the Old Religion."

"Still, it was Almaria's top magic users against one of her! And one of them is a charmess!"

"High priestesses have power unknown to even charmesses," Michael said meaningfully.

Rowena sighed and shook her head. "I wish Bryce would have been here. You, Bryce, Brandon, and Emily are practically unstoppable."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered.

Michael whirled to face Leon. "You doubt our power?"

Leon's eyes widened. "No, it's just that what can four sorcerers do?"

Michael's eyes flashed with hidden rage. "Of course a Camelot knight would be ignorant! Emily, Bryce, Brandon, and I are the top magic users in the world. Magic is very useful in the right hands!"

Leon snorted. "And very destructive in others."

Michael made to move towards Leon but Rowena stepped in front of him and put restraining hands on both men. "Now, now. This is not the time to fight."

Michael looked in wonder at Rowena. "You would defend a Camelot knight?"

"No." Rowena shook her head. "I defend the one Emily cares for. And I defend a friend. He may challenge us but he means well. Remember that."

Michael glanced unbelieving between Leon and Rowena before finally backing off. "I'm going for a walk." Michael grabbed his jacket and disappeared between the trees.

Rowena sighed and said, "I'm sorry about Michael. Almarians are very proud. We do not take being offended well."

Leon sighed. "No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed him."

Rowena nodded. "You shouldn't have."

Leon turned and sat by the fire and stoked it. Rowena turned and knelt by Arthur's side. "It's time to wake them up."

Leon turned. "How?"

"With magic."

…~….

"Why won't Emily wake up?" Leon asked worriedly over Rowena's shoulder.

Rowena had woken all of the unconscious warriors except for Emily in the past hour. She was beginning to tired and she could feel the strain. Rowena wiped the sweat out of her eyes and replied, "I don't think Emily is ready to wake up."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked over Rowena's other shoulder.

Rowena took a deep breath and held back a sharp retort. "Her magic is trying to protect her. It thinks she is in hostile company."

"But she's not."

Rowena took another calming breath. "That's what I'm trying to convince the magic of!"

"Oh."

Rowena shook her head and went back to work. Five minutes later, Emily's eyelids shot open.

Emily sat up and looked around. She rolled her eyes and said, "Morgana got away, didn't she?"

Rowena nodded. Emily groaned and laid back down. Rowena frowned and said reluctantly, "She's got Brandon."

"What!" Emily sat straight up. "How?"

"My fault," a voice said from the tree line.

Everyone turned to see Michael walking towards them. Emily's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How?" she asked, voice dangerously low.

"I tried to teleport us all out but Morgana put up a powerful shield around Brandon and two Camelot knights at the last second. I didn't have enough time or power to get them, so I left without them."

Arthur took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. Emily's eyes glanced to him. "Which knights?"

Arthur closed his eyes and forced out, "Gwaine and Percival."

Emily sighed. "Bet Morgana's thrilled."

Michael shrugged. "She doesn't have you." Michael added as an afterthought, "Or Arthur."

Emily shook her head. "So any ideas for an escape plan?"

Merlin smiled and raised his hand. "I might have one…"

Emily stood and crossed her arms. "Let's hear it."

….~…..

"My lady, Cenred wishes you to know that the prisoners are prepared and waiting for you," a guard said into Morgana's tent.

Morgana smiled. "Good. And where is Cenred?"

The guard called back tentatively, "He left to go back to Camelot."

"Good," Morgana grinned viciously. She left her tent with a twirl of her dress. As she entered the clearing in the woods, the three prisoners tied to the tree looked up.

She marched up in front of them and said mockingly, "Welcome, my knights, to my humble abode."

Gwaine bit his cheek to hold back a retort. Morgana sneered and continued, "I'm sure you're wondering why we're here, so I've decided to make this short and sweet. Any of you voluntarily wishing to betray your king, or queen, speak now."

Gwaine snorted. "As if."

Morgana smirked. "I was hoping you would say that. So let's start smaller, any of you want to tell me where the entrance to Almaria's dungeons are?" Gwaine and Percival shrugged and Brandon shook his head. Morgana smiled evilly. "Of course, what am I thinking? Sir Gwaine and Percival don't know where the entrances are!" Morgana turned her bloodcurdling gaze upon Brandon. "But Sir Brandon does."

Brandon kept his gaze locked on Morgana's. "I will not tell you."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Of course not! What's the fun in that?"

Gwaine and Percival glanced at each other worriedly. Brandon smiled sadly and said, "What could happen to you, Morgana, that is so bad that you would attack your friends?"

Morgana's eyes went wide. She drew her hand back and let it go, slapping Brandon across the face. "Do not speak to me like that?"

Brandon smiled back at Morgana. "Like what? It was an honest question. Unless, of course, you do not wish for me to be honest, because then I am happy to tell you all about Almaria."

When Morgana did not reply immediately, Brandon continued, "Like for instance, a wild troll guards the entrance to the castle. The walls are made out of solid sugar and I'm sure that if you gathered an army of children, you could eat your way through the walls."

Gwaine smiled and added, "The people of Almaria are a mix of zombies and vampires that hate their queen. You can be sure of their assistance if you attack at night."

Percival grinned and added, "In the dungeons, werewolves patrol the cells. On the full moon, they transform into unthinking beasts and with the right spell, you can control them and use them against Camelot."

Morgana's features contorted with rage and with a wordless spell, she silenced them. Morgana took a deep breath and cut the ropes around Brandon. Brandon stumbled away from the tree and dropped to his knees. Morgana approached a guard and snatched away handcuffs from him.

Morgana stalked over to the still recovering Brandon and chained his hands behind his back. When the chains were connected, Morgana's eyes flashed and Brandon cried out in pain.

Gwaine and Percival struggled against their chains and grunted. Morgana sneered and approached them. She put a mocking hand along the side of Gwaine's face and said, "What's wrong? Can't speak? That won't do. I need to hear you scream."

With a jerk of her head and a golden flash of her eyes, the knights' mouths loosened. Gwaine asked, "What did you do to him?"

Morgana's unfeeling eyes ghosted over to where Brandon was still writhing in the grass. "Oh that? Don't worry, I can't do that to you. Those chains around his hands are magic absorbing. I'm told they're quite painful." Morgana stared at the agonizing figure in the grass with unwavering amusement.

Gwaine tried to lunge at Morgana. "You're sick, you know that?"

Morgana turned to Gwaine. "Your turn."

With a flash, Gwaine dropped from the tree and Morgana stood over him threateningly. Gwaine stood quickly and stared at Morgana. "Well, give me your best shot," Gwaine tempted.

Morgana's eyes flashed gold and Gwaine dropped to the ground. His eyes roved around, never focusing. Gwaine cried out, but not because of physical pain. Percival watched in horror. "What did you do?"

Morgana watched with sick fascination. "It's a spell I've been waiting to try out. It takes the person's worst fears and makes them a reality in their mind. It's like your worst nightmare, but it never ends."

Tears were forming at the corner of Gwaine's eyes. He screamed, "I'm not strong enough! Run! Run!"

Percival couldn't look away. "Gwaine. It's okay. It's just a dream."

Morgana turned to Percival. "He can't hear you."

Percival held back a scream of frustration. "Gwaine! Gwaine! Wake up!"

Gwaine continued to flop around on the ground next to Brandon. With an unspoken spell from Morgana, the bonds around Brandon's wrists unlocked and fell on the ground. Brandon rolled away from them and rubbed his wrists. He was breathing heavy and glaring at Morgana. Morgana sneered, "Ready to give me the locations yet?"

"Never," Brandon said breathlessly.

"Good," Morgana replied. "I'm not anywhere near done with you."

The bonds clicked back on Brandon's wrists and he was once again writhing on the ground in pain.

Morgana was so enticed but the two men in pain that she did not notice the crossbolts that appeared in the guards' chests or the sound of swords clashing nearby.

…~….

Emily stood by Michael's side as she watched Arthur and Rowena fight through the men guarding the clearing. Within minutes, all were dead and Rowena appeared at Emily's side. She asked nervously, "Is Cenred here? I didn't see him and I'm not sure if he warned Morgana or not."

Emily sent out a quick magic pulse and replied, "No. The only living people in that clearing are Morgana, Brandon, Gwaine, and Percival."

Arthur appeared beside Michael. "How are Leon and Merlin doing?"

Michael replied, "They have taken down all of the guards with their crossbows. We are all good so far."

Rowena clapped a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Now it's you guy's turn."

"Yipee," Emily muttered sarcastically.

Michael faced Rowena. "Now all of you stay out here. We can't worry about any of you if this is supposed to work. It'll take all of our concentration."

Rowena nodded. "I'm not stupid."

"Just make sure everyone understands."

Rowena nodded. "I've got this. Now you guys go kick Morgana butt!"

…..~…

"Morgana!"

Morgana looked up from the two men and saw Emily and Michael standing at the edge of the clearing. "Guards!" Morgana called.

"I don't think they'll come. They're all dead," Michael sneered as he motioned to the dead bodies.

"Then I'll finish you myself!" Morgana shouted. She raised her hand to attack and then…couldn't move. "What the-"

Emily and Michael stood hand in hand facing Morgana. Wind swirled wildly around them blowing their hair across their face and all in all making them very threatening. Morgana attempted to undo the curse on her but found it too strong.

Michael and Emily chanted in unison: "Junge me: conservus in user magicis oppugnant pythonissam malum hoc. Venite iungere nostrae vim et contra communem hostem erumpere. Ablegaret purgentur et ab hac eam non revertentur. Miscere nostris et magicae impetum!"** (Join me, fellow magic user in attacking this evil witch. Let us combine our power and unleash it against our common enemy. Banish her from this clearing and not let her return. Combine our magic and attack!)**

At the last word, gold tendrils reached out from Michael and Emily and surrounded Morgana. Morgana could only watch in horror as she was covered in them until everything went black.

As the magic left the clearing, the wind died down and Michael and Emily let their hands drop. Leon and Merlin raced into the clearing to them. Merlin steadied Michael and Leon steadied Emily as the two almost dropped. Emily slurred, "Thanks for immobilizing Morgana, Merlin. I don't think we could have dodged her attacks and said that spell."

"No problem," Merlin grinned.

Emily stood up and away from Leon. Leon backed away holding his hands out to catch Emily if she fell. When her legs remained steady, Emily headed towards the captured men. Michael stood by himself and followed Emily. They reached Gwaine and Brandon and found them on the ground. Emily said urgently, "Merlin and Michael! Take the spell of Gwaine! I'll take care of Brandon. And Leon, untie Percival."

All moved to her orders and within minutes, all spells and bonds were lifted. Brandon sat up and looked around in wonder. "Thanks Emily. Those chains…were not pleasant."

Emily smiled and hugged Brandon tightly. Brandon returned the hug and smiled smugly at Leon. Can he top this?

Percival huddled over Gwaine as Gwaine's eyes focused on him. "Gwaine? Are you okay?"

Gwaine merely nodded and took a calming, deep breath. Percival held out his hand and pulled Gwaine up. Percival looked worriedly at his brother. "It wasn't real Gwaine. It was a dream."

"It wasn't? Oh thank god!" Gwaine smiled in relief but the sadness still remained in his eyes.

Leon and Merlin stood awkwardly around the reunions. Emily and Brandon released their hug and Emily leaned her head against his shoulder. "I thought..I thought…"

Brandon placed a comforting hand on her head. "It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay. We're alive and healthy and happy."

Emily smiled and sighed. Brandon wiped the forming tears away in Emily's eyes.

Rowena entered the clearing with Arthur. She asked worriedly, "Is everyone okay?"

Emily nodded.

Rowena let out a pent up sigh and said happily, "Let's go home."

…..~….

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! Please accepted my infinite apologies and my bribe of happy endings!**

**I did not edit this in order to get it up faster! So I apologize for any mistakes…so I was wondering if you guys would like to see Cenred and/or Morgana die in this fanfic…I wasn't sure so I thought I'd ask you! Please review and give me your opinion!**


	7. Tactical Meeting

_Chapter 7__ – Tactical Meeting_

"King Ulric?" Emily called hesitantly.

The group was now wandering into a large clearing near the border of Almaria and Mercia. Waymeth was a secret nation that hid of out sight within the trees. They moved camp almost once a week in order to avoid detection. Few outsiders knew a way to get into Waymeth, but luckily, Emily was one of those few people.

"Ulric?" Emily stepped forward and motioned for the rest to stay back. She continued walking forward looking around.

A shadowy figure appeared at the other side of the clearing. The clearly male voice said, "State your name and business."

Emily stopped walking and said, "Queen Emily of Almaria. I'm here to see King Ulric."

Another shadow figure appeared by the other one. The second one said, "Emily?"

Emily smiled and stepped forward. "In the flesh."

The first shadowy figure stepped aside and the second pushed his way into the light. The revealed man was tall, stocky man with ruffled, brown hair and clear, blue eyes. He wore simple leather armor with a large double edged sword at his waist.

The man strode forward to Emily and wrapped her in a hug. "It's great to see you again."

Emily hugged back and mumbled into his shoulder, "I've missed you, Ulric."

Ulric pulled back from the hug and kept Emily at arm's length. "After your father banished you, I didn't know what we'd do. Personally, I felt like eradicating our alliance with Darius but the council advised against it."

Emily shook her head. "Wise decision."

"Then, Darius refused to continue to support us. Luckily, your brother and your friend, Prince Bryce and Sir Brandon continued to supply us. Without their support, I fear to say Waymeth would not have made it," Ulric said ominously.

Emily smiled. "But you did! Waymeth made it!"

Ulric returned the smile with a wide grin. "Yes we did. And now we are in your debt. How can we repay you?" Ulric glanced between Emily and the Camelot and Almaria party behind her. "I assume that is why you have come."

Emily nodded. "Cenred has declared war on Camelot. King Arthur and a few of his men were forced to flee Camelot with my assistance. Almaria, led by me, will support Camelot in this war against Cenred. I was hoping that you would assist us."

Ulric moved his gaze back to the party behind Emily. "I assume one of you is King Arthur."

Arthur hesitantly stepped forward. "I am King Arthur of Camelot."

Ulric approached Arthur carefully. "How do you feel taking help from a magic using nation?"

Arthur sighed. "I will admit, I am not thrilled about it. There are still problems being worked out but overall, I am happy for the support."

"And you will not turn on us once we return you to your throne?"

"No. Camelot already has a treaty and alliance with Almaria. After the war, assuming we win, I would like to extend that treaty and alliance to Waymeth," Arthur said sincerely.

Ulric studied the young ruler thoroughly. "I think you are speaking truth, King Arthur."

Arthur nodded. "I am."

King Ulric nodded once and turned back the way he came. He announced, "People of Waymeth! Show yourselves!"

Approximately a hundred figures materialized out of the trees. Many were dressed in ragged clothing and had dirt smudged faces. They eyed King Arthur and his group precariously and stood rock still. King Ulric faced Arthur again. "These are the men that will support you. You have our support."

Arthur stuck out his hand to Ulric, who in turn gripped it fiercely. Arthur smiled and said, "Thank you, King Ulric. Camelot, and myself, thank and owe you."

Ulric shook his head. "Consider this repaying the favor Almaria has done for us."

Arthur nodded. "Very well."

…..~…

Leon rode into Almaria at the head of the procession with Emily by his side. They rode straight up to the castle and dismounted, handing off their mounts to stable hands. Percival was sticking by Gwaine's side since Gwaine was looking ominously shaky on his two feet.

Together, they entered the castle and entered the throne room. There, Bryce stood pacing the floor. Once the door opened, he turned to the entering group and shouted, "What took you so long? I was preparing to send men out to look for you! You said you'd take a day, no more!"

Emily stepped forward and placed calming hands on her brother's shoulders. "Relax. Everything is okay. We were waylaid by Morgana and her men. They took some prisoners and it took time to rescue them."

Concern flashed in Bryce's eyes. "Who was captured? Are they okay now?"

"Percival, Gwaine, and Brandon. Gwaine and Brandon were tortured but they should recover quickly. I was going to send them to our physician before you started shouting."

"Oh, sorry." Bryce gestured to the guards at the door. "Take Percival, Gwaine, and Brandon to Slyne in his medicinal room."

Brandon raised his hand and said, "Hold on-"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Go Brandon. Get checked out by Slyne and come back later. Everything will be fine."

"Aren't you holding the tactics meeting?" Brandon asked suspiciously.

Emily sighed. "Yes."

"Don't you need the second in command here when you are talking tactics?"

"Usually, but you aren't much use when you're injured," Bryce replied.

Brandon shook his head. "I'm good. I can attend the meeting."

Gwaine stepped forward. "If he can attend than so can we," he said gesturing to Percival and himself.

"Wait a second-" Leon started.

Brandon cut in, "Great! Then, it's settled! We're all attending!"

Leon shot Brandon a fierce glare that Brandon pretended not to see. Bryce took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Fine, attend the meeting. But right after, you are going to see Slyne."

Brandon smiled triumphantly. "I'll take that!"

….~…..

"Cenred's kingdom is heavily fortified with no limits to his ammunition. Our scouts tell us that his castle is sealed with guards checking all who enter very thoroughly," Sir Oldrin said.

Lady Helen checked the map that lay on the table on which everyone surrounded. Her face grew grim as Oldrin finished his report. "So there will be no sneaking in."

"It would be very hard, near impossible," Sir Oldrin confirmed.

Emily nodded and beside her, Brandon asked, "Are there no underground tunnels we could take?"

Sir Cedrim shook his head. "Those entrances were sealed over a hundred years ago and the tunnels long since forgotten."

Leon, on the other side of Emily, shook his head. "So the only way is through the walls. Not very subtle."

Arthur bit his lip thoughtfully. "What if we don't try for subtle? What if we are very, very obvious?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

Arthur pointed on the map at the plain before Cenred's castle. "Could we put the majority of your men here and attack the castle?"

"As a distraction?" Bryce asked.

"No. Make that the main assault. But also put a smaller platoon of men back here," Arthur said pointing to the castle wall beside the forest. "and have them attack."

"I don't understand," Bryce said as he gazed intently at the map.

Leon gasped. "I do!" At Emily's questioning glance he said, "King Arthur is suggesting to attack from the front, or northwest side, as the real assault. Cenred will think that is a distraction and will look for other attacks. On the east side of the castle, where the forest is, a smaller band of men can assault the east wall, but this will be the real distraction, but Cenred will think it's the real assault."

"Oh!" Brandon said. He leaned onto the table to point out a spot on the east side. As he leaned, a sly hand found itself across Emily's waist. "Then, while Cenred is fortifying the east side, we attack the northwest side and gain entrance!"

Emily reached across her back and quietly removed Brandon's hand. She shot Brandon a look and entered the discussion. "Oh I see." She turned to Leon and asked, "Do you think it will work?"

Leon, who had been watching the whole Brandon's-arm-around-Emily thing, swallowed his rising jealously and said thickly, "It's possible." He shot Brandon a dirty look and in turn, Brandon smiled challengingly back at him. Leon continued, "If we really sell the east side attack, Cenred will be confused enough so we can get through the wall with siege engines." Leon smiled. "Even better, what if we divide the real assault between the northwest and the west sides? Then, Cenred will have to divide his men into thirds but only two of them are real."

Arthur's eyes widened as he thought about the idea. "That's a good idea! Cenred won't know what hit him!"

Sounds of approval came from all around the table and Emily smiled. She announced, "Well, it's late and we've done enough for today. Get some sleep and to all the knights, I expect to see you at dawn tomorrow morning on the training field."

Grumbled responses satisfied Emily and she turned to Leon as the room emptied. "You can come too, to the training session I mean. You won't have to get up at dawn because we'll be running it until noon. It's been awhile since I assessed how the Almarian knights are and it's better to start with a bang!"

Leon smiled. "Sure, I'd love to. I'll mention it to Arthur too, if you don't mind."

"I'd love it!" Emily gave Leon a quick peck on the lips and smiled. "Now I have to make sure Gwaine, Percival, and Brandon make it to the infirmary. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too."

Behind Emily, Leon saw Brandon watching him with a furious glare. He gave Emily another peck on the lips just to see Brandon's face and then they were gone and Leon was alone in the throne room. He sighed and exited the room and headed down the hallway to his chambers. As he laid down for bed, he smiled in remembrance of Brandon's angry look.

…..~…

**So how much do you guys hate me? I am so so SORRY! First I had writers block (I swear) and then I went on vacation. Plus, I had to rethink my complete writing style because, I admit it, my background sucks. I can't build up information and I'm working on it! Please bear with me as I work on my writing! PS this chapter was not edited in an effort to get it up faster! Sorry for any mistakes!**


	8. Training Session

_Chapter 8 __– _

"But it's too _early_!" Brandon whined as Emily dragged him out to the training field.

"Suck it up Sally," Emily replied.

"The sun is just now coming up! Man was not meant to rise with the dawn," Brandon complained.

Emily ignored him and continued to pull the reluctant second in command out of the castle and to the training grounds where the rest of the Almarian knights were standing and failing to hide to yawns. Emily stopped Brandon beside all the others and continued walking until she was separate from the others. "Attention!" Emily called and once everyone's eyes were on her she continued, "To warm up, grab a partner and spar with them. Dull swords should be found inside the armory!"

With grumbled responses, the men followed her instructions and Emily gave a small nod. _They still remember how to take instruction! _She turned to Brandon who still stood in the same spot she had placed him. "Can you help me oversee the instruction?"

Brandon sighed and said, "Sure…but you owe me coffee after this."

Emily turned away and laughed. She replied, "Fine! But I'm picking where!"

Brandon merely smiled and spun with a newfound energy. He hopped and started shouting at some knights who were taking too long to get started.

Emily, on the other side of the field, was just done pointing out flaws in a new knight's attack when she turned and saw the Camelot knights wide eyed and armed. Arthur was watching the training men along with Percival and Elyan. Leon was skimming through the people, presumably looking for her. Gwaine of course was yawning and looked like he was hungover. She approached the group and said, "You know, the physician has the perfect remedy for hangovers."

Gwaine perked up. "Really?"

Emily nodded. "Go. Slyne would be thrilled for some company."

"Sweet! Thanks, Em!" Gwaine said as he walked away.

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Why?" he simply asked.

"He shouldn't be training so soon after being captured," Emily shrugged.

Arthur nodded. "Thanks."

Emily bowed her head in acknowledgment. She turned to Leon, "Welcome to Almaria's knight training session!"

Leon smiled. "Glad to be here."

Emily grinned evilly. "Let's see how long that will last."

Percival and Elyan shared worried looks.

….~….

"I don't think I'll ever move again!" Elyan said as he sank down into a cushioned chair after the session was over. Elyan and Percival had managed to limp back to their shared room with Gwaine (with three beds, mind you). Gwaine was nowhere in sight and Elyan thanked his lucky star for that. Gwaine would never stop with his needless chattering if they couldn't run.

Percival joined in the chair to his right and said, "I'll second that." Percival groaned as he slipped his shoes off with his feet. He leaned stretched his tall muscular frame and winced as he felt many knots in his muscles. "I could go for a nice hot bath."

Elyan nodded. "Do you think if we summoned a servant they would make a bath?"

Percival shrugged and immediately regretted it as his muscles protested. "Worth a shot."

Elyan and Percival sat for a few more minutes in silence before Percival said, "You know, we'll have to get up if we want to find a servant."

Elyan sighed. "I know," he groaned.

….~…..

Leon stayed behind with Emily and Brandon to help clean up the swords they had used during practice. In all honesty, his muscles were screaming at him to just drop to the ground and curl into a ball until the pain went away, but there was no way he was letting Brandon alone with Emily. Who knows what that sneaky sorcerer would do…

Leon emptied his armful of dull swords into a bin in the armory and sighed. He was hurting in so many places at once. Who had known Almarians train so hard? Arthur was just as sore as everyone else though he didn't let on. He simply had Merlin draw a hot bath and he was no doubt enjoying it at that very moment. Leon slumped his shoulders at the thought of a hot bath.

Leon was just on his way out of the armory when he heard Brandon say to Emily, "What do you see in that Camelot knight?"

Leon peeked his head outside of the armory door. Brandon had pulled Emily into the corner before entering the armory. Emily was not happy as she said, "His name is Leon."

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Fine what do you see in _Leon_?"

Leon took a deep breath to calm himself down as he hid in the door where he had a great eavesdropping position. He knew it was wrong, but he just couldn't help himself.

Emily replied, "What's it matter to you?"

She tried to push away but Brandon put his arm against the wall behind Emily, effectively blocking her escape. Brandon responded, "I just want to make sure he's good enough for you."

_Yeah right_, Leon thought.

Emily took a deep breath and turned to Brandon. "Fine. I love Leon. That's all there is to it. He's a great person. He's funny, cute, and very kind." She looked at Brandon angrily. "Are we done now?"

Emily tried to push away again and Brandon once again stopped her. Leon wanted to reveal himself from his hiding place and help her but he just couldn't find the will to get up. He wanted to see where this was going. _What is he up to?_

Brandon asked suggestively, "But are you sure he's the _right _one?"

"If he's not the right one, who is?" At Brandon's look, her eyes widened. "You?"

Brandon smiled. "I'm just as good as him, if not better."

"But you…I don't…Brandon…" Emily stuttered.

Leon was shocked motionless; he couldn't move. If Brandon took Emily away…nothing good would come of it.

Brandon grinned at Emily. "What do you say?"

Emily looked away from Brandon guiltily. "I-I don't feel anything like that for you Brandon."

Leon smiled to himself. His hopes had come true: Emily felt nothing to Brandon.

Brandon's grin didn't move from his face. "I don't believe you."

"Believe it," Leon said emerging from his hiding place.

"Leon!" Emily said relieved for a place to leave. "Do you want to go get some lunch?"

"Sure," Leon grinned. When Emily left to go to Leon, Brandon didn't stop her this time. As Emily grasped Leon's hand, her eyes found his and he grinned. "I love you."

"I love you too," Emily mumbled.

As the two walked away, Leon couldn't help but flash a smug grin back at Brandon who was standing there, locked to the spot, with a murderous look on his face.

Brandon called out to them, "I don't believe you, Emily! I won't give up!"

Emily sighed and kept walking.


	9. Caravan

**You, my readers, are very lucky that my dad is good with computers. Otherwise, you would not have this chapter until I got a new computer! This chapter is dedicated to my dad for fixing my pride and joy (my computer)!**

_Chapter 9__ – The First Battle_

Leon walked beside the front cart at the caravan. The Camelot knights had been recruited to help the caravan full of food and supplies make it to Waymeth. Waymeth had requested one last supply train to help sustain them over the impending war with Cenred.

Leon was assigned to walk in the back with the last cart. Several Almarian knights were also assigned this area but Leon couldn't bring himself to make a decent conversation with them. They walked in an awkward silence.

Unfortunately, Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival were assigned near the front of the caravan. Arthur had stayed behind with Gwen and Bryce while Emily was one of the few that would roam back and forth between the caravan.

Suddenly, loud noises came from the front. Leon asked, "What's going on up there?"

One of the Almarian knights, Travis, said, "I don't know but it doesn't sound good."

Distinctive clangs of metal on metal rang out. Travis said, "That is the sound of swords."

"Are we being ambushed?" Leon asked, eyeing the woods around them.

Before anyone could reply, men charged out of the woods with swords high and shouting war cries. Immediately, the knights moved to intercept them. Leon attacked two men dressed in similar clothing, one wielding a sword and one a doubled edge ax.

The sword wielding man swung impulsively at Leon. Leon promptly ducked and struck the back of the man's leg, breaking through the thin armor and cutting skin and tissue. The man cried out in pain and dropped to the ground releasing his grip on the sword. He didn't move otherwise to stop the blood from surging from the wound.

The ax man swung the ax overhead and Leon rolled away. As he regained his feet, Leon felt the ax coming at him again, this time from overhead. He dodged to the right and lashed out with his sword.

An ax is superior to a sword in a fight as long as the wielder could use it correctly and efficiently. The man Leon was fighting surely was capable of using an ax.

The man blocked the side arm swing and immediately followed with an attempt to punch Leon's jaw. Leon leaned out of the way and as the man lost his balance, Leon grabbed the hand and snapped the man's elbow. The man cried out and lashed out wildly with his other hand, the one holding the ax. The blade hit Leon in the thigh and Leon kneeled and cried out in pain.

The ax-man swung at Leon sloppily using only one hand, yet Leon knew there was no way he could dodge the blow in time. Before the ax connected with his head, a sword struck the man's arm out of nowhere. Beside Leon, Rowena appeared along with Bryce.

Bryce thrust his sword into the man's chest, effectively ending that threat. Around them, many men were still fighting but the three stood together. Rowena knelt beside Leon and inspected his wound. She diagnosed, "It's not that deep but it is bleeding profusely. We need to stop the flow of blood or you'll bleed to death."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Leon grunted out.

"Magic," Rowena answered simply. She held her hand over his wound and chanted, "Þurhhæle dolgbenn."

Leon felt an odd sensation cover his leg, effectively numbing it and stilling it. He could see the skin reforming together and the blood flow slow.

Rowena let out a gasp and stood up unsteadily. Bryce immediately steadied her with an arm around her waist and a hand on her shoulder. Rowena gasped, "That's all I can do for now. I'm no good with healing magic."

"Thank you," Leon managed, still awestruck at the blatant act of magic done in front of him. "I think."

Bryce forced out a laugh. "If Emily didn't show an interest in you, we would have let the wound be, but since she does, you have become a top priority on the list of 'Must Survive.' According to Emily anyway."

"Where is Emily?" Leon asked worriedly.

Rowena shrugged. "Around here somewhere." At Leon's worried expression, she continued, "Don't worry about her. She can take care of herself."

"I know," Leon sighed. He struggled to stand up and eventually Bryce held out a hand to steady him. When Leon was successfully on his feet, he glanced around at the fighting men. "Aren't you worried about them?"

Bryce answered, "It's a small attack force, one meant to merely inconvenience us not to actually stop us. The men should handle this just fine."

Since Bryce suggested it, Leon noticed that the Almarian side was indeed winning by a large margin. The attackers were falling left and right. Very few were still fighting.

Rowena sighed. "How did they know the path we're taking?"

Bryce's face grew grim. "They either have very lucky scouts who stumbled across our trail or we have a traitor."

Rowena bit her lip and her gaze fell to Leon's wounded leg. "You should put pressure on that. It's best that you take no chances."

"There's a medic tent up near the front," Bryce said motioning to the front of the caravan. "We have to go that way anyway to take care of any wounded and gather the men we captured."

Leon nodded. He could use a painkiller poultice that the physician might have.

….~…

Emily looked around her and hummed in satisfaction. All of the attackers were disposed of or captured and currently being put in chains. She eyed the front of the caravan, aways in the distance.

When the sudden attack had occurred, Emily had been in the very back of the caravan checking up on the rear scouts. Luckily, not many men had attacked back here and none of the men were injured. Also fortunate for them, they had captured two of the men and they could learn much information from them.

Sir David was currently holding the chain that the prisoners were bound to. She ordered, "David, you and I will accompany these incompetent fools up to the front. The rest of you will divide yourselves into two teams, one of which will check on the other knights that were injured and the other team will scout out the enemy stragglers."

When the knights nodded their consent, Emily set out for the front of the caravan with David and the two prisoners. They walked at an agonizingly slow pace for Emily, but eventually they made it to the front.

At the front, injured knights were being herded in one direction and captured men were being chained to a selected tree. Emily motioned for David to take the prisoners over to said tree while she headed off to the injured.

While walking amongst the injured, she healed deep injuries discreetly with a few murmured words and a flash of gold eyes. She passed the minor scrapes and bruises with just a nod to the men. They of course nodded back, as was expected of them.

As she neared the back of the area, she spotted something she would forever have nightmares about. "Leon! What on earth are you doing in the medic area!"


	10. Waymeth (Again)

**Beware, there is shameless fluff and romantic crap in this chapter!**

"Leon, what on earth are you doing here?"

Leon looked up to see a worried Emily eyeing the bloody wound on his thigh. "Umm, I got injured but Rowena stopped the bleeding so now all I need is a bandage."

"How did it happen?" Emily asked with her voice dangerously low.

"A guy with a double edge ax. They are nasty to fight but don't worry, he's in far worse shape than me!" Leon joked.

Emily didn't even attempt to smile. She waved a physician over and said, "Bandage his leg please."

Leon immediately protested, "Many knights have worse injuries; treat them first."

The physician looked questioningly at Emily who shook her head and said, "No. Treat him first. It will be quick and easy."

"But-"

Rowena appeared at Emily's side. "Don't even bother to argue, Leon. Just shut up and let him treat you."

Leon sighed and nodded. "Fine, but I'm not happy about it."

"Oh well," Emily decided.

"I need to borrow Emily for a moment," Rowena said. "Is that okay?"

Leon frowned. "I guess, just bring her back."

"I promise." Rowena tugged on Emily's arm and they walked out of the tent and to where Bryce was standing alone. Rowena glanced around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers before saying, "We have a leak in Almaria."

Emily sighed. "I know and I already have my suspicions."

"I hate to say it, but could it be Brandon?" Bryce asked sadly. Brandon and him had been friends for years and had trained together many times. They were brothers in all but blood.

Emily shook her head. "No matter how much Brandon gets mad, he won't betray us."

Rowena shrugged. "Still, we shouldn't exclude him just yet."

Emily bit her lip and after a while, nodded in agreement. "Fine, now who else knew about this?"

Bryce chuckled. "Every knight in Almaria along with some peasants."

Emily rubbed her temples. "How are we going to tell who betrayed us?"

"We could ask Michael to probe everyone's minds and discern who the traitor is," Rowena suggested.

"But that would take weeks, a month even!" Bryce said.

"How else then?" Rowena asked defensively.

Bryce shook his head. "I don't know…"

Emily sighed. "I think that's the best course of action for now. I really don't know what else to do…"

"Me either." Rowena sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We lost only one knight and over 20 are injured."

"Who'd we lose?"

"Sir Calman. He was just knighted last year."

Emily took a deep breath. "Then we have to tend to the wounded and continue on to Waymeth. There we can take better refuge and heal everyone."

"Once we're there, I can send a message via mirror to Michael to start the probing," Bryce offered.

"Okay, you do that. I'll start directing knights to unload the cargo," Rowena continued.

"And I'll talk with King Ulric," Emily finished.

Bryce nodded. "So we're good?"

"I think so, just keep an eye out for any shifty behavior coming from the men." Rowena eyed several knights that passed their secret meeting.

"I hate to think that one of our own betrayed us," Bryce admitted.

"I know, I don't like it either." Emily turned to Rowena. "You got any healing magic left in you?"

Rowena nodded. "A bit."

"Can you assist the healers? They have to be exhausted by now."

Rowena nodded and started to walk away, Bryce close behind her. On a whim, Emily called out, "And don't tell anyone about our suspicions, okay?"

"No problem."

…..~…..

Leon poked at his bandaged leg to see if it still hurt. When the shoot of pain coursed through his leg, he held back a groan and thought, _Yep. It still hurts._

The caravan had started on its way again an hour ago with the captives being dragged along behind it. Leon was assigned to sit on the last cart and watch the captives. He was thankful he didn't have to walk.

He had checked up on the other members of the Camelot party as soon as he was finished being bandaged. All of them had remained unharmed, luckily, and only had witty things to say about Leon being injured by an axman. Leon had scowled in response and walked away.

After that encounter, Emily had joined him and was now currently sitting beside him with her head on his shoulder. He knew she hadn't slept well since she had met her dad again. Occasionally, she would admit she had nightmares at night but would insist that they were nothing and that she could handle them.

"Hey Emily."

"Yeah?" Emily asked tiredly.

"Did you have a nightmare last night?" Leon asked cautiously, still not making eye contact.

Leon felt Emily's gaze move to his cheek. "Why?"

"It's just a question." Leon sighed. "If you don't want to answer it, that's fine."

They settled back into their silence again, and Leon had decided that Emily wasn't going to reply when he heard, "Yeah, I did."

"What was it about?" Leon asked sensitively. Emily hated to show weakness and he knew not to push her too far, or she wouldn't reveal anything to him again.

Emily took a deep breath. "You."

"Me?" Leon asked in wonder. He looked at Emily in surprise and found her staring out into the distance, determined not to meet his gaze.

"Yes you. You decided that you didn't want to court me anymore so you left."

"What?"

Emily didn't reply. Leon shook his head in surprise trying to get his thoughts straight. "That's, um, that's ridiculous. You know that would never happen right?" When she didn't reply, Leon insisted, "Right?"

"Right." Leon could tell Emily's voice wasn't exactly shaky, just devoid of its usual confidence and determination.

Leon took Emily's hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze. "That would never happen. Ever."

Emily nodded and turned to look at Leon. She gave him a forced smiled and said, "I know, it was just a nightmare. I don't know what I'm so worried about."

Leon sighed. "Neither do I. I don't think you understand how hopelessly I'm in love with you. I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to."

"I love you too."

Leon laughed. "Not exactly the expected response, but it will do."

Emily rolled her eyes and gave a genuine smile. "I'm glad it does."

"So am I."

The cart came to a sudden stop and Emily unconsciously drew a dagger from her boot. She looked around and realized, "We're in Waymeth."

…~….

"Queen Emily! How wonderful it is to see you! And this is…Leon if I remember correctly?" King Ulric had admitted Emily and Leon to his throne room and they were alone ready to discuss politics and what not.

They had travelled into Waymeth and had been shown the actual town part of it. The Camelot knights and new Almaria knights had been very surprised to see that Waymeth actually has a castle, a rather large castle, in the woods hidden with magic.

Leon and Emily were whisked away by King Ulric as soon as they had stopped the caravan. Bryce has set off in search of a magical mirror and Rowena was ordering men around.

Leon nodded. "It's nice to see you again, King Ulric."

"The same to you, young man. The same to you."

Emily rubbed her temples. "We have a problem, Ulric."

"What kind of problem?" Ulric asked suspiciously.

"A leak," Emily answered.

"We have a leak?" Ulric's eyes widened.

"Not you, Almaria. Almaria has a leak." Emily sighed and sat down in a chair. "And I have no idea how to find it."

"What about magic?" Leon asked.

Emily sighed. "Michael has started to probe minds at Almaria but it's a very slow, exhausting process. Not to mention faulty."

"Could you find him by using elimination?" Ulric suggested as he lowered himself onto his throne.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked sitting beside Emily.

"Well," Ulric continued. "You could send another caravan back to Almaria but tell different people about different routes. Wherever the attackers show up, that's who betrayed you."

"They are a hundred people that could be the mole, that's way too many."

"Tell different groups of people different routes. For instance, tell the first year knights that we're going one way, the second years another, and so on." Ulric summoned a flask of ale out of thin air and took a sip.

Emily sat up straight. "That could work…"

"Of course it could!" Ulric answered. He smiled and took another sip. "Do you doubt me?"

Emily scoffed. "I think we both know the answer to that question."

….~…

**Special thanks to mycousinmiguel! This chapter is dedicated to you!**

**And who do the readers think the traitor is? Review and tell me!**


	11. Traitor?

_Chapter 11__ – Traitor_

Ulric sat at the head of the dining table with Emily on his right and Arthur on his left. "Let the feast begin!" he boomed.

The empty gold dishes in the middle of the table magically filled with all kinds of food imaginable. Beside Emily, Leon watched Arthur's expression carefully. Arthur did not let any signs of discomfort show through but by the look in his eyes, Leon could recognize somewhat reluctance.

Emily, however, dug in. She grabbed the plate of chicken in front of her and dished a serving on her plate. She asked Leon, "Want any chicken?"

Leon nodded and grabbed the dish. Just as he was scooping some on his plate, the plate in front of him rose off the table by itself and flew down the table and into a sorcerer's waiting hands. The unforeseen action caused Leon to scoop more chicken on his plate then he expected. "Plates fly?" he heard Arthur ask.

Ulric laughed a hearty laugh. "You are in a magic friendly kingdom now, Arthur. We use magic for everyday things."

Arthur nodded somewhat. He took a dish in front of him and poured some corn on his plate. Beside him, Gwen was taking this more in stride. She asked Emily, "Can you get me some of that pork down there at the end of the table?"

Emily smiled and said, "Sure, no problem." Her eyes glowed gold and the plate soared through the air towards her. She caught it and handed it to Gwen. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

Arthur looked at his wife with surprise before asking, "Can I have some pork?"

By now, the long table was full of flying dishes making it difficult to see at the end of the table. Emily stood and muttered, "I know there are biscuits; I saw them…so where are they now?"

Leon muttered, "Crazy magical people…"

"I heard that," Emily chided. She looked for another few moments before shouting, "Aha!" Her eyes gleamed gold once again and a silver dish flew into her hands. "Biscuits!"

Emily put two biscuits on her plate and held the dish to Leon. Leon took it and said, "Thanks."

Ulric's eyes flashed and his plate filled with heaping servings of chicken, biscuits, gravy, and corn. "Now, this is good food!"

Emily nodded and said, "Thank you for feeding us, King Ulric."

"Yes, thank you," Arthur added.

"It is no problem! It is me who should be thanking you for bringing us more supplies for the coming war!" Ulric said.

Arthur and Emily didn't reply back but instead dug into their plates. Soon, the air cleared of flying dishes and everyone could raise their heads up without fearing of a dish smacking into it. Small talk ensued down the table and Gwen asked, "So, will Waymeth fare well during the war?"

Ulric nodded and said, "We should do just fine. We have plenty of healers and a sizable army. I'm sure Waymeth will stand her own against Cenred and his armies."

Leon wiped his mouth and said, "We have reason to believe that Cenred will have many creatures of magic fighting for him."

Ulric's eyebrows rose. "Such as?"

"We're expecting wyverns, basilisks, cockatrices, and perhaps maybe even a dragon," Leon answered.

"A dragon? Where would Cenred get access to a dragon?" Ulric asked surprised.

Arthur replied, "Cenred has allied with Morgana, a fearsome witch. She has a pet dragon that she may send in to fight."

"Dragons do not follow the whims of witches," Ulric answered. "They are independent creatures of wisdom."

"We believe that she might have raised the dragon from birth," Arthur answered.

"The dragon could bring problems," Ulric admitted. "They are very fearsome creatures."

"We are aware," Leon answered remembering when the Great Dragon attacked Camelot.

Ulric seemed to read his thoughts as he answered, "Yes, I heard of when Camelot was being attacked by the Great Dragon. I was quite surprised to hear that you bested it."

Arthur shrugged. "It was mostly great luck. We seemed to have the goddess of luck shining down upon us."

Ulric glanced to Merlin who was standing behind Arthur with a mug of wine. "It would appear so."

…~….

Emily stood with Leon while the caravan started. They had already told the knights different ways to get home. Only Leon, Arthur, Emily, Rowena, Ulric, Bryce, Brandon, and Michael knew the actual route they would take home. And of those few, only Rowena, Bryce, Emily, and Leon knew that this was a trick to find the traitor.

The caravan disappeared into the trees and the couple was left alone with their horses. Leon motioned to the horse. "Should we get going?"

Emily sighed. "Yes, I suppose."

Leon mounted his horse quickly followed by Emily mounting hers. Emily spurred her horse towards where the caravan had gone. Leon followed her close behind. Leon asked, "Who do you think the traitor is?"

"I have no idea," Emily said with a tone that signaled the discussion was over.

Leon ignored the tone and pushed on, "You must have some idea."

Emily sighed. "I'd like to think that none of my people would betray us but if I had to guess, one of the rookie knights. They wouldn't have a connection to Almaria yet and don't realize how severe the punishment of a traitor is."

Leon nodded. "That's true."

Emily merely nodded back and eyed the back of the caravan. Leon and her were assigned to keep an eye out for attackers. Rowena and Bryce were leading the caravan and showing the drivers where to go. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How is Arthur doing? With all of this?"

Leon sighed. "He's obviously upset about his kingdom being overrun. He's incredibly cranky and snaps at anyone and everyone. I think Merlin has talked to him _twice _about that."

"I guess I can understand how he's feeling. Losing your kingdom and not being strong enough for you kingdom…it's rough." Emily said. She turned to Leon. "How are you doing?"

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine. I want to be there for my king but I also want to be there for you…" He eyed Emily wondering if he said the wrong thing.

Emily shrugged. "He's your king. You should be there for him."

Leon took a deep breath. "I just wish I could make him feel better about himself…"

"Talk to Merlin. I'm sure you two can come up with a way to get him feeling better about himself. Even better, add Gwen into the mix. She's pretty awesome," Emily suggested.

Leon bit his lip thinking over the idea. "I think I'll do that. I'll be able to find Merlin back in Almaria…"

Emily didn't reply but instead looked harder at the trees. "Did you see something move in there?"

Leon looked closer at the trees and caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off of something. Possible armor or weapons. "But how would they know that we're on this route? Less than a dozen people knew!"

"It doesn't matter," Emily said drawing her sword from the sheath on the horse. "Now, we fight!" She muttered a quick spell and shouted, "It's an ambush!"

Her magically amplified voice echoed over the caravan. Knights and warriors drew their weapons just as the attackers jumped out from behind the trees. Since they were not caught completely off guard, the beginning was very equal.

Emily engaged two different swordsmen and dodged both their attacks. She thrust through the chest of one of the obviously inexperienced swordsman and magically sent the other flying back into a tree where he laid unmoving. She turned her gaze to Leon who was holding his own against three attackers despite his injured leg. She said a quick protection spell before sprinting towards the front of the caravan. She passed many small battles and saw with satisfaction that her side was winning once again. _Those attackers keep underestimating us. When will they learn?_

Emily reached where Arthur was dueling a couple men and where Merlin was pinned against the cart. Merlin's eyes glowed gold and the man that was about to kill him dropped his sword screaming in pain. Merlin promptly thrust his sword through his abdomen and turned to Emily. "What's up?"

"I'm looking for Rowena," Emily gasped out. "We need to talk."

Merlin pointed up towards the front. "Last I saw her she was jumping off her horse and fighting. I don't know where she went."

Emily nodded. "Thanks." She took off running towards the front.

"Emily!"

Emily turned around and saw Leon running after her. She paused and waited for Leon to catch up. He panted, "What are you doing?"

"Looking for Rowena. I think I know who the traitor is."

**Another quick question: Should Merlin reveal his magic to Arthur in this story?**


	12. Traitor Part 2

**Sorry for the long wait. I've been caught in the anime fandom but I'm back! (For how long, I do not know…)**

**And I am angry at myself for making me do this…but the traitor needed to be someone…**

_Chapter 12_ – Traitor Pt. 2

"Rowena! Rowena! I know who the traitor is!" Emily shouted as she ran towards Rowena and Bryce.

Rowena thrust her sword through the abdomen of an attacker. "I'm a little busy right now," she answered.

"No, it's important! Listen!" Another attacker headed towards Emily but Leon headed him off and dueled. Within three moves, the attacker was lying on the ground and Leon had joined them again.

Rowena turned to Bryce. "Call for support up here. Emily needs to talk to us."

"Now?" Bryce asked incredulously.

"Yes, just do it!" Rowena replied.

Bryce huffed. "Fine." He turned to several knights instructed to remain on horseback. "Dismount and take our fighting positions. We will be back soon."

The men nodded and drew their swords. They swung down from their horses and engaged the few remaining attackers.

Bryce joined Emily, Rowena, and Leon and asked, "What on Earth could you possibly have to say?"

"I know who the traitor is," Emily answered. Bryce's eyes widened.

"Do you now?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "And we know how to catch him."

….~….

Unsurprisingly, the Almarian knights won the battle and made it back to Almaria's gates safely. On the way home, Emily had asked for Arthur and Merlin's presence and together they planned the demise of the traitor.

Back at the castle, Arthur was helping Rowena instruct the knights to their stations. As planned, Emily and Bryce approached him and informed him of the meeting taking place in the throne room in five minutes.

They had planned for Leon, Arthur, Merlin, Emily, Rowena, Bryce, Brandon, and Michael to meet in a private gathering and discuss the traitor. Emily and Bryce informed all those that should attend and made their way to the room.

Arthur, Merlin, Brandon, and Leon were already in the room when the two siblings entered. Leon and Merlin were sitting in the chairs surrounding the table while Arthur was standing behind them pacing. Brandon stood in the corner away from the Camelot knights and servant leaning on a column. When Emily and Bryce entered, he perked up and was immediately at their side. "Do you know who the traitor is?"

Emily said calmingly, "We have our suspicions."

"Who?"

"We will not discuss it until everyone arrives," Bryce said with a final tone.

Brandon sighed and took a seat as far away from the Camelot men as possible. Emily sat next to Leon while Bryce stood by the door. After an awkward minute of silence, the door opened and Rowena and Michael stepped through the door. They took seats near Brandon and Emily and Bryce joined them.

Emily took a deep breath and started, "I'm sure you all know why you're here."

Brandon nodded, "It's about the traitor." His face contorted into a look of disgust as the word 'traitor' left his tongue.

Emily nodded. "Yes."

Arthur added, "We have new information on who the traitor is."

When Arthur did not continue immediately, Brandon asked anxiously, "Well? What is it? Who is it?"

Arthur looked to Leon and motioned for him to take over. Leon said, "King Ulric masterminded a test to find out what level the traitor was at."

"How?" Michael asked.

This time, Rowena said, "We told the rookie knights one route, and the 5 year knights another, and so on and so on."

Bryce added, "Only the people in this room knew the true route."

After that had sunk in, Emily explained, "The attackers knew our true route. Which means-"

"One of us in here betrayed our country," Brandon finished with a vulgar look on his face. "It wasn't me."

"Nor I!" Michael said.

"Look, we kind of figured out that the traitor won't admit his treachery so we have devised a plan," Emily said. "We will have Michael look in everyone's mind and he will tell us who betrayed their own."

Brandon looked outraged. "What! What if Michael's the traitor? What if-"

"Hush Brandon!" Bryce ordered. "We have our suspicions to who it is."

"And?" Brandon asked wide eyed.

Emily turned to look at Merlin. "It's Merlin."

Merlin's eyes widened and he raised his arms in defense. "No, I swear! It's not me! I'd never betray you!"

Arthur looked coldly at his manservant. "I should have known. You have always snooped around in my things and I never thought much of it, until today."

Bryce stood and walked behind Merlin's chair. He put a strong hand on Merlin's arm and forced him to stand. He tightened his grip and asked, "Who do you work for? Cenred? Morgana? Or just some scum who works for the best paying customer?"

"I'm not the traitor!" Merlin persisted. "I didn't do it!"

"Lies," Arthur spit. "All you are capable of saying is bitter lies!"

Merlin's face was one of pure hopelessness. "I would never betray you guys!"

Michael stood. "Silence traitor! Let me invade your thoughts and let me see if you are telling the truth."

Merlin started to shake. "No! Don't! It will hurt!"

"If you resist, it will. If you comply, it won't. Make your choice," Michael said grimly.

Merlin bit his lip before saying, "Fine. Search my thoughts. You will find nothing but loyalty."

Michael's lip curled into a sneer. "We shall see."

Michael thrust out his hand toward Merlin and Merlin winced. Emily could feel Michael going through Merlin's thoughts, memories, fears, and worries with no regard for privacy or care. He was being none too gentle. Emily knew Merlin had a wall blocking Michael from his most inner thoughts and the memory of them planning the trick. Emily, along with Rowena, had helped him build it and disguise it as one of the natural walls of his brain.

As Michael hit a particular sensitive part of his brain, Emily couldn't help but wince. Opening up all your thoughts was a terrible experience. Rowena had implanted many fake memories that would disappear from his head as soon as she said the word, leaving him with no damage at all.]

Michael withdrew his probe and his hand. He leaned forward on the table as Merlin collapsed. Only because of Bryce's tight grip on his arm did Merlin stay upright. Arthur asked, "Well? Is he the traitor?"

Michael smirked. "Yes. He works for Morgana and Cenred ever since five years ago."

"Five years!" Arthur roared. He grabbed Merlin by the shoulders and continued, "Five years you've been betraying me and your country!"

Merlin shook his head frantically. "No, Michael's lying. I would never-"

"Silence your lies, boy!" Michael shouted. When Merlin kept his mouth shut, he turned to Emily. "He is your traitor, my lady. You guessed right."

Emily looked meaningfully at Michael. "Yes, I do think I guessed right." She blinked and turned to Merlin and Arthur. "You two can stop acting now. Great performance, by the way."

Arthur slung one of Merlin's arms around his shoulders. "Thanks! I'm surprised to find Merlin can actually lie convincingly. He's never managed to get me to believe one lie."

Merlin smiled a weak grin. "Is that a compliment I heard?" he teased.

Arthur looked abashed. "Of course not? You must be hard of hearing. We best get you to the physician's quarters for a check."

Merlin smiled. "I need a hearing check? What about-"

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked clearly confused and worried.

Leon looked disgustingly at Michael. "It's not possible for Merlin to be the traitor. He didn't know about the path they planned to take on the way home."

"In his memories, it was-"

"Nothing," Rowena answered. "I observed them first before you did and I found nothing to suspect him as a traitor. In reality, Merlin is the most loyal manservant and citizen I've ever seen."

"Do you care to explain how you found him to be a traitor?" Arthur asked challengingly. "Because the Merlin I know would never betray me or Emily."

"Um," Michael stammered as he took a step back. He turned to find himself staring into Brandon's chest.

"Where are you going?" he asked innocently. "I thought you planned on selling our secrets for a bit longer."

"I-I can explain," he said hurriedly as he retreated from Brandon and backed into the table.

Emily laughed. "I'd love to hear this."

"I-I need some money," Michael started.

"Nonsense. You get paid enough to cover any expense you could ever have," Rowena said. "I make sure of that." She tilted her head and continued, "Well, I did make sure of that."

"But-but-"

"But what?" Emily asked, anger finally creeping into her voice. She stood and walked towards Michael. "What? What could possibly give you reason to betray your country? Your Queen? Your family?"

Michael shook his head. "Nothing."

"Then why?" Emily practically screamed. "Why would you betray Almaria?"

Michael's gaze turned to Arthur. "Because you allied with Camelot," he spat venomously.

Emily was caught off guard. "What?"

Michael was ranting now. "Camelot is a pathetic nation. Too weak to use magic, too weak to embrace the reason why Almaria has been flowering for so long. And then you!" He turned to Emily turning red with rage. "You fall in love with a Camelot knight, of all people! You, the one person I thought would never fall, never show any weakness…you lose all of it for one man!"

Emily ground her teeth very tempted to shout back but if she interrupted him now, they would never get the full story.

"Camelot is a retched place that deserves to fall. I made a deal with Morgana and Cenred, that if I gave them information, they would make sure Almaria is returned to Emily's rule and that Camelot is burned! Burned to the ground and then rebuilt with Morgana's guidance, so it can flourish with the help of magic!" Michael finished.

Emily shook her head. "Michael, Camelot is not a bad place…"

"It is the most foul place on this Earth!" Michael screamed.

Arthur spoke up. "What wrong has Camelot done you? How have we offended you?"

Michael faced all the Almarian citizens in the room. "You know what Camelot has done. You know the evil deeds they have committed, to us personally! They made Almaria suffer when we needed strength the most!"

"What is he talking about?" Leon asked Emily.

Michael laughed. "Queen Emily, have you not told them? Hmmm? Well, let me catch you up. Camelot burned Prince Adam at the stake! You took away our heir to the kingdom!"

Arthur remembered back to what King Darius had said. "Yes, but I thought we were over that."

Emily took a deep breath. "Yes, I thought so too. But apparently, several of my people are still mourning his sudden and unneeded death."

"You are weak, Emily! You are weak to help Camelot when you should be joining Morgana and helping burn it to the ground! Take vengeance for your brother! After all, you were affected most," he sneered.

With lightning speed, Emily drew a knife from her boot and lunged at Michael. With almost equal speed, Brandon caught her and held her back. "Emily, don't do it. He's not worth it." He held tightly to her hand holding the knife while his other hand was wrapped around her body.

Emily nearly screamed in frustration before she stopped struggling. Brandon said quietly, "Drop the knife."

Emily took a deep breath before letting the knife slip out of her hand. It clattered to the floor with a loud collision that echoed in the near silent room. Rowena stooped and grabbed the knife and swiftly put it in her own boot. Brandon let go of Emily who immediately ran out of the room. Brandon turned sadly to Leon and said, "You should go after her."

Leon nodded his thanks to Brandon before running after her.

Bryce ordered, "Gag the traitor and get the magic removing chains out. We need to move him to the most secure part of the dungeons."

….~…..

**So, what did you think? Was the traitor expected?**


End file.
